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THE TROPHY. From a design hy Verestckagin. 



/ 



CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS, 



AND 



THE FALL OF KHIVA. 



BY 






J. A. MAC GAHAN, 

CORRESPONDENT OF THE 'NEW TORK HERAXD. 




KIBGHIZ OOTIBT OF JUSTICE. 



WITH MAP AND NUMEROUS ILLUSTRATIOI 



Vf'/ C; 



HARPER & BROTHERS, PUBLIS&^RS, '' 



NEW YOKK 



FKANKLIN SQUARE. 

18 74. 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1874, by 

Harpek & Brothers, 

In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. 



-3^ 



'.'■kk^ 



r 



PKEFACE. 



The aim of this book is modest. It is rather 
a record of travel and adventure than a re- 
gular history of a military campaign. For the 
most part, I simply describe what I myself saw 
and heard. In doing this, I hope, however, to 
have at the same time succeeded in producing 
something like a picture of life and warfare in 
Central Asia. And I have done my best to give 
completeness to my narrative by describing not 
merely the military operations against Khiva, but 
also the physical features, the social life, and the 
political condition of the country itself. 

It may be objected that I have dwelt too much 
— especially in my first chapters — on merely per- 
sonal adventures. While pleading guilty in some 
degree to the charge, I venture to offer two pleas 
in extenuation. First, I travelled through a 
strange country under very strange circumstances. 
And, secondly, an account of my own adventures 
may serve to give the reader some idea of the 
manners, customs, and feelings of the almost 
unknown people among whom I moved. 



iv PKEFACE. 

The book is divided into three parts. In the 
first part, I give an account of my hfe in the 
desert of the Kyzil-Kum, while still in search of 
Gren. Kaufmann's army. The second describes the 
march on Khiva, and the capture of the city ; 
and some chapters are de^•oted to a general 
account of the Khanate. In the third part is 
narrated the war with the Turcomans, which 
followed the fall of Khiva. 

I am deeply indebted to Mr. Schuyler, Secretary 
of the American Legation at St. Petersburg, for 
the assistance he rendered me, on the way to 
Central Asia ; but for his aid, I should probably 
never have been able to reach Khiva. To Mr. 
Robert Michell I also owe my thanks for many 
valuable suggestions. 

I should add a sentence of explanation as to the 
method I liave adopted in spelling the foreign 
words introduced into the narrative. The vowels 
are always to be pronounced as in Italian ; the 
consonants as in English. In two cases, dj and 
tch, it may seem that a superfluous letter is used. 
This is done to prevent the possibility of error. 
The pronunciation of the letter j/' varies so much 
in foreign words, being sometimes y and some- 
times zh, that I have thought it advisable to 
use dj ; and ch even in English has two sounds. 
G is always to be pronounced hard, and kh has a 
deep guttural sound. 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 



The Trophy {from a design hy Verestchagin). Frontis^jiece. 

The Taeantass (from a design hy Verestchagin') .. .. 6 

Kirghiz Kibitka {from a design hy Verestchagin) .. .. 42 

Kirghiz Winter Encampment (from a design hy Verest- 
chagin) .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 50 

Interior of Kibitka .. .. .. .. .; .. 55 ' 

Kirghiz Tomb (from a design hy Verestchagin) .. .. .. 64 ' 

A Kirghiz .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 89 

Khala-ata .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 108 

General Kaufmann (from the ' Illustrated London 

News') 158 

Ferry on the Oxus (from a design hy Verestchagin) .. .. 174 / 

View in the Oasis (from a design hy Verestchagin) . . . . 188 

Irrigation Wheel .. .. .. .. .. .. 195 

Khiva and the Hazar-Asp G-ate (from a design by 

Capt. Feodoroff) 231 -^ 

The Great Square in Khiva (from a design hy 

Capt. Feodoroff) .. 235.' 

Muhamed Eahim Bogadur Khan (from the ' Graphic ') . . 275 ^ 
View of the Citadel (from a design hy Capt. Feodoroff, 

of the Turkisian Sharpshooters) .. .. .. .. 292 

A View inside the Exterior Wall (from a design by 

Capt. Feodoroff) .. .. .. .. .. .. 294 



X 



LIST OF ILLUSTKATIONS. 



PAGE 

A Street (from a dtsign hy Verestchagin) .. .. .. 296 

A Deevish {from a design by Verestchagin) .. . . . . 298 

A Mullah at Pkater (from a design by Verestchagin) . . 301 

An Uzbeg .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 305 

Dancikg Boys .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 320 

JJz'&y.g'^om'E'S (from a design by Verestchagin) .. .. .. 322 

Tuecoman Yatim-yarb (from a design by Verestchagin) .. 356 

Turcoman Farm-taed (from a design by Verestchagin) . . 358 
The Chaegs (from a design by Verestchagin, ^Illustrated 

London News'') .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 363 

Peince Eugene .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 386 

General Gtolovatchoff .. .. .. .. .. .. 390 

The Flight (from a design by Verestchagin, 'Illustrated 

London News').. .. .. .. .. .. .. 398 

Tuecoman Woman .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 413 

The Kayuk (from a design by Verestchagin) .. .. .. 432 

Map. 



PAKT I. 



LIFE IN THE KYZIL-KUM. 



CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS, 



THE FALL OF KHIVA. 



CHAPTEE I. 

FROM THE VOLGA TO THE SYR. 

X. BRIGHT sunny afternoon. A wide level expanse of plain, 
cut up here and there by canals, and dotted with clumps / 
of brushwood ; on the south, extending to the horizon, a 
sedgy marsh, over which flocks of waterfowl are careering 
in swiftly changing clouds, that sometimes hide the sun; 
.-) the west, a caravan with its string of camels, creeping 
*iowly along the horizon's edge, like a mammoth snail ; 
10 the east, the walls of a mud-built town, over which, 
leaning up against the sky like spears, rise the tall slender 
masts of ships. 

The place is Central Asia, near the Syr-Darya Eiver, or 
Yaxartes ; fifty miles east of the northern shores of the 
Aral Sea ; the time, the 19th of April, 1873. 

In the foreground there is a tarantass — a long, low, 

black vehicle — in the midst of a swiftly-running stream ; 

ix or eight horses are splashing and plunging wildly 

^out in the water, systematically refusing, with exas- 

- rating persistence, to pull together ; four or five Kirghiz 



4 CAMPAIGNINa ON THE OXUS. 

postillions, some on tlie horses, some in the water up to 
their waists, are pushing at the wheels, shouting with 
savage energy, while the wheels sink deeper and deeper 
at every movement of the maddened beasts. In the 
tarantass two disconsolate-looking travellers, wrapped up 
in rugs and sheepskins, who watch dejectedly but re- 
signedly the downward tendency of the wheels, awaiting 
despondently the moment when the water will be running 
into the box, over feet, rugs, arms, and provisions. 

The two travellers are Mr. Eugene Schuyler, charge 
d'affaires of the United States at St. Petersburg, on a tour 
of observation in Central Asia, and the writer of this 
book, on his way to Khiva. 

Time was when we were neither dejected nor resigned, 
when our hopes were high and our anticipations bright, in 
the expectation of novelty and adventure. A time there 
was when we offered advice to the Kirghiz postillions, 
and swore at them for not taking it ; when, growing 
impatient and then enraged, we stormed and beat the 
drivers as well as the horses, and spent an amount of 
superfluous energy in trying to get forward, that as- 
tonished those easy-going Orientals, but, as far as could 
be observed, produced no other appreciable effect. 

That was, however, long since. To our benumbed 
memories it seemed some few years ago. We now sat 
resignedly in the tarantass, and let the horses plunge and 
splash, and the drivers shriek and howl in their own way, 
while the wheels steadily settled in the mud ; never 
offering to lift a hand or proffer a word of advice. Four 
weeks of travel, day and night, across the level frozen 
steppes of Eussia, and the broad snowy plains of Asia, 
with the thermometer ranging from 30° to 50° below 
zero; of struggle with the exasperating perversity of 



STAETING. 5 

Russian Yamstehiks, the wearing, patience-trying sto- 
lidity of Kirghiz djigiis, the weakness of enfeebled, 
half-starved horses, that were scarcely able to drag them- 
selves along; the obstinacy of refractory camels, that 
tortured us for hours at a time with their dismal half- 
human howls, had reduced us to this dejected state of 
apathetic resignation. 

Travelling in Central Asia at this season is a never- 
ceasing, never-ending struggle against difficulties. The 
distance from Saratof or Samara on the Volga to Tash- 
kent, the capital of Turkistan, is about 2000 miles, 
a distance which in Europe and America would be 
nothing, but which in Asia is a mighty undertaking, re 
quiring weeks, and, under unfavourable circumstances, 
even months, for its accomplishment. The Eussians have 
established a line of communication by means of post- 
horses; and in the autumn, when the horses are still 
fresh from the summer pastures, and the roads good, or 
in the beginning of winter, after the first snow, the 
journey may be made in three weeks — that is, if you 
travel night and day. At this season, when the horses 
are enfeebled by several months of starvation, you are 
lucky if you reach your destination in three months. 

Your first care upon starting is to buy a vehicle known 
as a tai'ciniass, the fore and after wheels of which are 
united together by two long springy poles, the only 
springs with which it is provided. On these is placed the 
body of the carriage, a stout box, with a stout leather 
hood and curtain, absolutely necessary to protect you from 
the cutting blasts of the steppe. The wheels are taken 
off, to be put on again when the snow disappears ; and 
the whole equipage is mounted upon a sledge. The 
box is then filled with straw, a mattress is put in, and, 



6 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

liaving procured a podorozhnaia, or governmeiit order for 
horses, you roll yourself up in sheepskins, and start. For 
days, even weeks, you eat, drink, sleep — literally live in 
this vehicle, 

I interrupt the narrative for a moment to give an 
account of our progress from Saratof, on the Volga, to 
Kazala, near where the beginning of this chapter found us. 

For the first day our course lay along the left bank of 
the Volga, through the German settlements established 
there by Catherine II. in 1769. Pleasant enough was our 
progress through the little old-fashioned villages, with 
their snug, comfortable wooden houses, half buried in 
the snow, and squat brick churches, and tall spires. The 
post-houses are clean and tidy ; good coffee and bread 
and butter everywhere to be had ; the people quick and 
obliging, the horses excellent, and we go dashing at a 
swinging gallop over the glittering snow. The sharp 
wintry air, resplendent with particles of flying frost that 
sparkle in the cold sunshine, the gusts of sleet and snow 
that beat in one's face like a shower of needles, only add 
zest to what is simply a prolonged sleigh ride. Out of 
one village into another, from station to station, we fly 
with almost the speed of a railway train. Arrived at one 
of these villages, we tumble out of our sheepskins, rush 
into the hot sitting-room of the post-house, and by the 
time we have warmed ourselves and swallowed a hasty 
cup of tea or coffee, the horses are ready, and we are off 
again, flying merrily over the snow to the sound of bells. 
Day and night we continue our flight ; sleeping as best 
we can in our taraniass, and only stopping at distant in- 
tervals to bolt a hasty meal ; until at last Nicolaievsk is 
reached. And here we bid farewell to the German colo- 
nists, and our own peace and comfort in travelling. 



FAREWELL TO THE GERMANS. 7 

From Nicolaievsk we struck across the country to 
Uralsk, and here we. began to experience a change. We 
were on the free-post road, that is, a line of post commu- 
nication not established by government, but by private 
enterprise. There were no regular post-houses, and we 
stopped at the end of each stage at the house of the 
peasant who happened to furnish the horses. These were 
usually poor, lean, half-starved, woolly-looking beasts, 
very unlike the sleek, well-fed animals that galloped us 
through the German colony ; and were often scarcely able 
to drag us along. The stages, too, were longer, and in 
the houses neither milk nor butter could be obtained. 

The Russian peasants do not seem to have learned any- 
thing from their thrifty German neighbours, in spite oi 
their proximity. This is partly on account of the bigotry 
of the German and Russian priests alike, who vie with 
each other in their efforts to prevent any intercourse 
between the two people ; and partly because the Russian 
peasant is not a very progressive being. At every 
stopping-place we had occasion to observe their way of 
life, and to contrast it very unfavourably indeed with that 
of the German colonists. 

Arriving at one of these peasant stations, you enter first 
a kind of outer room, cold and dark, which is used as a 
store-room, and likewise serves to shelter the entrance of 
the main apartment from the penetrating wind. Groping 
through this room, you come to a large heavy door, lined 
with felt, which opens outward, and immediately behind 
it another of the same description, opening inward. You 
pull one and push the other, and step into a room so hot, 
that for a moment you feel that some extraordinary and 
untoward accident has precipitated you into a place popu- 
larly believed to be the hottest in the universe. The 



8 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

atmosphere strikes your face like a hot pillow, and you 
are almost suffocated ; while your eyes, accustomed to the 
glare of the snow, can make nothing of the semi-obscurity. 
In a moment, however, you recover your breath and your 
eyesight, and you find yourself in a small room, ten feet 
by twelve, about one-fourth of which is taken up by a 
huge stove or mud furnace, from which comes the over- 
powering heat. There are one or two small windows 
with double sashes, the glass dim with ice ; benches all 
around the walls, a rough table of undressed boards, two 
or three stools of the same material; in one corner of 
the ceiling an obraz of '" Mikola," a gilded picture of 
St. Nicholas, or perhaps of the Virgin ; in another an 
earthen pitcher half full of water, suspended by a string 
from the ceiling, from which you pour water over 
your hands when you wish to wash, and — that is all. 
Dresser there is none : no such accommodation being re- 
quired when the house has but a knife or two, a couple 
of plates, and three or four wooden spoons. There is no 
bed, for the whole family sleep on the top of the large 
furnace, among a heap of sheepskins and old clothes ; 
there is no wardrobe, for they keep their clothes in a 
more convenient place — on their backs, never taking them 
off even to sleep. The samovar, the Eussian tea-urn, 
which we always found at the stations, is seen rarely 
in a Eussian peasant's house. That is an article of 
luxury much beyond the means of a single peasant ; two 
or three doing duty for a whole village. 

The first thing is to make a bargain for the horses. 
That done, we bring in our tea-things, the children gather 
around us in expectation of lumps of sugar ; the samovar 
is instantly heated, we pour down incredible quantities 
of boiling tea, as a means of laying in a supply of heat 



A DEIVER TEANSFOEMED. 9 

for our battle with the fierce chilling winds, and again 
we are out on the wide, snowy, cheerless plains, plodding 
slowly forward. 

One night, almost the coldest I think I ever passed, 
we were very much astonished at the end of a long stage, 
during which we had been assailed by a furious snow-storm, 
to see our giant driver — four feet across the shoulders, 
wrapped up to the point of his nose in sheepskins — climb 
down from his seat, and resolve himself into a heap of 
sheepskins, and a bright-eyed, rosy-cheeked little girl of 
twelve. We were, however, relieved to find that we had 
not been intrusted to her safe keeping only on the steppe, 
her father having driven the sledge before us containing 
our baggage. 

From the land of the Eussian peasants we come into 
a settlement of Bashkir Tartars, where we nearly stuck 
for the rest of the winter, owing to the contumacy of the 
Bashkirs in refusing to give us horses, except at rates 
that would have impoverished us long before reaching 
our destination. After infinite trouble, however, and an 
expenditure of diplomacy that would have astonished 
Grortchakoff himself, we succeeded in worrying through, 
and, crossing a southern spur of the Ural Mountains, 
found ourselves in the country of the Ural Cossacks. 

From Uralsk, the capital of the Cossacks, along the 
banks of the Ural to Orenburg, tour progress was some- 
thing like what it was through the Grerman colony. The 
horses were good, the station-houses clean, and but for 
the broken roads, which were worn into holes and gutters, 
our journey would have been a pleasant one, in spite of 
the bitter cold. 

At Orenburg we stopped only long enough to get our 
outfit ; and crossing the Ural on the ice, we leave Europe 



10 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

beliind us, and are soon far out on the broad, level, almost 
boundless plains of Central Asia. 

Here the post-horses are furnished by the Kirghiz, 
who have thousands running wild over the steppe. But 
at this season of the year, enfeebled by a long course of 
starvation, the poor animals are scarcely able to walk. 
Sometimes we have as many as fifteen or twenty starving 
brutes attached to our vehicle, yoked three and four 
abreast, who go shambling along before us like a flock of 
sheep, unable to raise the ghost of a trot. The camels, 
which were often furnished us instead, were just as bad, 
with the difi'erence that some one or other of the lot 
usually set up a howl by way of protest against the whole 
proceeding, which he would keep up for hours without 
intermission. The stages, were from twenty to thirty 
miles in length, so that we were often out in the cold for 
hours at a time. And then, arrived at the station-house, 
benumbed with cold, we find nothing but a hole in the 
ground covered with leeds and earth. But for the black 
and white post planted in the earth, you might easily pass 
one of these stations, never suspecting its presence, so 
completely is it hidden beneath the level floor of the 
plain. Admittance into this cheerful habitation is gained 
through- a long underground passage. The horses are 
always far away at some distant aul, and have to be 
found and fetched afte» our arrival — a task sometimes 
requiring hours. At one place they flatly refuse to give 
us horses ; averring there are none. 

" When will there be any ?" we ask the Kirghiz 
whose duty it is to supply the horses. 

" He does not know." 

" Does he think we are going to stay in the steppe all 
the winter ?" 



A STKOKE OP DIPLOMACY. 11 

This is a question he declares beyond the sphere of his 
prophetic vision. 

The last answer proves too much for Ak-Mamatoff, 
our Tartar servant, who, flying into a rage, draws an 
old iron sword, with which we had provided ourselves, 
and thrashes the Kirghiz soundly. 

This stroke of diplomacy results in the production of 
a number of starving skeletons, which too plainly cor- 
roborated the assertions of the Kirghiz that there were 
no horses. There is nothing better to be obtained, how- 
ever, and we take them at the risk of breaking down 
halfway to the next station. 

And so we get slowly forward. The days pass — some in 
wild fierce storms of snow and sleet, that howl around us 
as though all the demons of the steppe were up in arms, 
some in bright sunshine, whose intolerable glare blinds 
us and blisters our faces. From time to time we drive 
down into darksome underground holes, hot and reeking, 
hover around the steaming samovar, pouring down oceans 
of boiling tea ; then out on the silent steppe again to con- 
tinue the weary struggle. 

There are nights when we awaken from a half-frozen 
sleep, and remember we are in the heart of the mysterious 
regions of Asia, and see nothing but the wide snowy 
steppe, silent and ghostly in the spectral moonlight. For 
miles and miles there is no human habitation, but the 
burrow-like stations somewhere far ahead, buried under 
the snow, as though crushed into flatness by the grim 
uniformity above. 

There is something strangely oppressive and awful in 
the changeless monotony of these wide, snowy plains, 
level as a floor, where for days and weeks you see nothing 
but snow and sky; where you are the moving centre of a 



12 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

horizon-bounded plain that seems to move with you, and 
hang upon you, and weigh you down like a monstrous 
millstone. There is the breadth and loneliness of the 
ocean without its movement, the cold and icy silence of 
the arctic regions, without the glory of arctic nights or 
the grandeur of the arctic mountains — the silent desola- 
tion of an unpeopled world. 

Those broad, level, snowy plains, over which the icy 
winds from Northern Siberia come rushing down in furi- 
ous blasts with an uninterrupted sweep of a thousand 
miles, and drive the snow about in whirlwinds that go 
scudding over the plain like giant spectres ; the short 
days of sunshine, when the glare on the snow dazzles 
and burns ; the long cold nights passed in a half-frozen, 
half-somnolent state, with the tired beasts trudging 
wearily forward ; — I shiver now at the bare remem- 
brance of it all. 

Day after day, night after night, week after week, finds 
us on the road, gliding silently forward ; changing horses 
at stations so much alike, that we seem to be arriving 
at the same place over and over again ; the same endless 
plain, the same ever-receding horizon, until the steppe 
becomes to our benumbed imaginations a kind of mon- 
strous treadmill on which, no matter how fast we travel, 
we always remain in exactly the same place. 

As we approach the Kiver Syr-Darya the weather begins 
to grow warmer. The snow gradually disappears, and 
then we have to struggle through long watery tracts of 
country where the mud is knee-deep, and we stick every 
few minutes, apparently without hope of rescue. Then 
the plain changes its snowy mantle for one of de- 
licious green; the air grows soft and balmy with the 
breath of spring, and begins to be laden with the odour 



THE DAEK-BLUE AKAL. 13 

of wild flowers. We meet everywhere the Kirghiz with 
their tents and camels, out already from their winter 
quarters, on their annual migration northwards, and the 
plain is dotted with their flocks and herds. For us the 
winter is over, although in the steppe we have left 
behind us the snow is still many feet deep. Then we 
come into the desert of the Kara-Kum, through which 
we plod slowly ; and at last, one bright, sunny afternoon, 
we ascend a sandy dune, at whose foot stands the next 
station, and hail with delight the dark-blue waters of the 
Aral Sea, lying in the midst of the waste of yellow sands^ 
and glimmering in the sunlight like a turquoise set in 
gold. 

Darkly calm and silent it lies in the midst of the sandy 
desolation that surrounds it. Here its banks are rolling 
hillocks covered with brushwood, but far away can be 
seen rising, abrupt and precipitous, the western shore, 
in a serrated, mountainous range, and standing out in 
the evening sunshine bare and bleak, like mountains 
of rugged brass. It is a picture of strange and weird 
loneliness, according well with the sinister desolation of 
the surrounding waste. 

After a two hours' halt we resume our journey. One 
day more brings the town of Kazala, or Fort No. 1, 
on the Syr-Darya, within view ; and here in sight of the 
unknown town, which has been the goal of all our hopes 
and the object of all our anticipations for so long, the 
beginning of this chapter finds us. 

For hours we sit patiently in the taraniass in the 
middle of the stream. We know by experience how any 
suggestion on our part as to the advisability of sending 
on to the town for fresh horses would be a good and 
sufficient reason to our postillions for not doing so. We 



14 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

watcli with some interest their futile attempts to extricate 
us, but feel that it is no affair of ours. 

At length, after what seems to us an age of vain 
attempts to drag us through ; after employing a number 
of expedients for raising the tarantass, which expedients 
seem to produce the contrary effect with a certainty and 
exactitude that are remarkable ; after a series of angry 
altercations between the postilions, in the course of 
which they treat each other to a variety of disagreeable 
names as well as blows, — they at last decide to send on 
to the town for more horses. 

After long waiting, the horses appear, we are finally 
extricated from our insular position in the middle of 
the stream, and in another half hour drive gaily into 
the wide unpaved streets of Kazala on the banks of I he 
ancient Yaxartes. 



OK THE SYE. 15 



CHAPTER II. 

KAZALA. 

Kazala, or Fort No. 1, was the entering wedge of the 
Russians into Central Asia. The fort was first con- 
structed by Greneral Perovsky, in 1847, forty miles lower 
down, at the mouth of the Syr, and called Fort Aralsk. 
In the course of time that position was found so unsuit- 
able, on account of the surrounding marshes, that the fort 
was moved up the river to its present position. Situated 
on the banks of the Syr, the first strategic point occupied 
east of Orsk, it was soon followed by the construction of 
Fort No. 2. The capture in 1853 of Ak-Mesdjid, 250 
miles farther up the river — now called Fort Perovsky — 
assured the safety of the Russian position on the Syr. 

The fort, a small earthwork about 200 yards square, 
surrounded by a ditch, defended by a few light pieces 
of cannon, and garrisoned by about 1000 men, is a fair 
specimen of all the Russian forts in this part of the 
world. A single battery of modern field artillery would 
render it untenable in half an hour, but in Central Asia, 
with such fortresses, the Russians hold an empire in sub- 
jection. Between it and the river is the navy yard, and 
on the land side has sprung up the flourishing town of 
Kazala, which numbers about 5000 inhabitants. 



16 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

With the exception of the military, there are few Eus- 
sians in the place. The greater part of the population are 
Sarts, or Tadjiks, Bokhariots, Kirghiz, and Kara Kalpaks, 
all speaking a dialect of Tartar, and all Tartar tribes, in 
whom the Mongolian type has been more or less modified 
by an infusion of Aryan blood. 

The first view of Kazala is sufiicient to show you, in 
spite of its broad streets, that you are in Central Asia. 
The low mud houses with flat roofs, without windows, and 
almost without doors ; the bazaar with its rows of little 
shops or stalls, where long-bearded men, in gay bright- 
coloured robes, gravely sit, taking tea, among their wares ; 
the strings of ladeu camels that come trooping in, the 
crowds of wild-visaged men, the heaps of strange-looking 
merchandise, all remind you that you are in the wild and 
legendary regions of the East. 

It was with a feeling of lazy satisfaction, only known 
by those who have posted a journey of 2000 miles, that we 
at last drew up before the door of the only hotel of the 
place. The hotel accommodation, to be sure, was not of the 
most luxurious. A large room — with a table, a few chairs, 
a wooden sofa, and a bed to which are wanting sheets, 
coverlets, pillows, and mattresses — is not all that could 
be required in the way of luxury, if one were disposed to 
be exacting. But that we were not. Besides, we were 
provided ourselves with leather-covered pillows, mat- 
tresses, and sheepskins. So, after a Eussian bath, which 
we obtained in a little mud out-house, fitted up for the 
purpose, we stretched ourselves out for 'one good quiet 
nap, the first for many days, and then awoke to a royal 
dinner of wild duck, brown and juicy, done to a turn by 
our Tartar servant, Ak-Mamatoff. Then we sally out to 
get a view of the famous Yaxartes of ancient history. 



THE AEAL FLOTILLA. 17 

Leaving the town and fortress beliind us, we are soon 
standing on the banks of the river. It is here about 
a quarter of a mile wide ; its waters, brown and muddy, 
rush by with a sullen murmur between low sharp 
banks, sometimes covered with a rich sward, sometimes 
with forests of tangled brushwood, and tall reeds and 
jungle, the hiding-place of tigers ; while beyond, away 
to the south, in the direction of the Oxus, are the yellow 
sands of the Kyzil-Kum melting into the hazy sky. 

One of the first things that attracted our attention was 
the Aral flotilla. There were three good-sized side -wheel 
steamers, the ' Samarcand,' ' Perovsky,' and ' Tashkent' ; 
two stern-wheelers, the ' Aral ' and ' Syr-Darya' ; a steam- 
launch, the ' Obruchef,' and many barges, of which three 
were schooner-rigged. We saw, besides, two new barges, 
one of which had just been launched, while the other was 
still on the stocks. Two or three of these vessels were 
built in Sweden, but the rest were all constructed in Liver- 
pool or London. They are all of iron, and were brought 
here in pieces, and put together. When it is remembered 
that these boats had to be carried on the backs of camels, 
in pieces whose weight could not exceed 300 i^unds, and 
through the steppe I have just described, the difficulties of 
the undertaking will be understood. The ' Samarcand,' 
which was built, I believe, in 1870, is by far the best of the 
fleet, and is an exceedingly pretty and comfortable craft. 
They are none of them well fitted for the shallows of the 
Syr-Darya, as they draw too much water to run on the 
river, except in the high water of spring and midsummer, 
when the snow melts in the mountain ranges. Here the 
Syr-Darya is deep enough ; but near Fort No. 2 there 
are many shallows, which are constantly changing. A 
few weeks ago, in coming down the Yaman-Darya from 



18 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

Fort Perovsky, the ' Samarcand ' anchored for the night 
in deep water, but the next morning was on dry ground, 
and it required the labour of 500 men for a week to cut 
a channel and bring her off. The models for the Eussiau 
steamers on the Yaxartes should be sought, not on the 
Thames, but on those American rivers where vessels are 
constructed to draw no more than six inches of water. 

Though it was Easter Sunday — the greatest holiday in 
the Eussian calendar — the river bank presented a busy 
sight. The barges and steamers were being loaded as 
fast as possible with provisions, stores, and ammunition ; 
for Lieutenant Sitnikoff, the commandant, expected to 
sail for the mouth of the Oxus in three or four days, to 
go up the river and meet the expedition of General 
Kaufmann as near as possible to Khiva. 

We were now very anxious to hear something of the 
campaign against Khiva; we had learned nothing since 
leaving Orenburg, and, for all we knew to the contrary, 
the place might already have fallen. 

When I left St. Petersburg, it was with the expectation 
of reaching this place before the departure of the column 
led by th^Grand Duke, Nicolas Constantinovitch, which 
I knew was to start from here. I had long since given 
up that hope. I knew the column must have already 
taken up its march for Khiva. The only question now 
was, how far it had reached, and what were the chances 
for overtaking it. Intent upon obtaining information, we 
called, in the course of the day, upon the commandant 
of the fortress, Colonel Kozyreff. We found him a genial, 
hospitable old gentleman, and were only too rejoiced to 
accept his ready invitation to dinner. 

From him we soon learned that the campaign against 
Khiva was already far advanced. There were in all five 



NEWS OF THE EXPEDITION. 19 

columns directed against the Khanate. The Kazala 
column, under the command of Colonel Groloff, with the 
G-rand Duke Nicholas leading the vanguard, had left here 
on the 21st of March, had reached a place called Irkibai 
on the Yani-Darya, on the 6th of April, and had there 
constructed the fort Blagovestchensk. When last heard 
from, some ten days previously, they were at the wells 
of Bukali, in the Bukan-Tau mountains, not more than 
a hundred miles from the Oxus, where they were to 
await the arrival of General Kaufmann, leading the 
Tashkent detachment in person. No news had been 
received from Kaufmann since the departure of his troops 
from Tashkent. Nothing was known of his exact where- 
abouts, but it was supposed that he must, by this time, 
have united his forces with those of the Kazala column, 
and he might even have already reached the Oxus. 

It was not encouraging news for me to find that 300 
miles of desert lay still between me and the column which, 
when leaving St. Petersburg, I expected to meet here in 
Kazala, especially as the greater part of the distance 
would have to be considered the enemy's country. 

A courier, who had just arrived on his way from the 
Orenburg expedition, reported that the forces under the 
command of General Verevkin had already crossed the 
Emba, and were well on their way south. This column 
was due by the 13th of May on the southern shores of 
the Aral, where it was to be joined by the expedition, 
under Colonel Lamakin, from Kinderly Bay, on the 
north-east shore of the Caspian, an expedition, by the 
way, of which we had not heard before. Of the detach- 
ment under Colonel Markosoff, starting from the southern 
shores of the Caspian, nothing had been heard. 

But perhaps the most important news we obtained 



20 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

was that, three weeks before, an ambassador from the 
Khan of Khiva, the Bii Murtaza-Khodja-Abaskhodjin, 
had arrived with a letter from the Khan to Greneral 
Kaufmann, and with the Russian captives. The am- 
bassador had a suite of twenty-j&ve persons, among 
whom were a Divan-Beg and an Ishan. The Khan, we 
were told, had ordered the embassy to comply in every 
respect with Greneral Kaufmann's demands. At the time 
when the embassy was sent out, nothing was known at 
Khiva of the movement of the Russian troops ; and, as it 
took the road close to the Aral, it did not meet the 
expeditionary forces. The embassy was a month on the 
road, and found snow enough to supply them with water. 
Greneral Kaufmann had ordered the ambassador to be 
forwarded to his camp, and also those of the Russian 
captives who could stand the journey. The released 
Russians numbered but twenty-one, eleven of whom are 
Cossacks. They were all captured in 1869 and 1870 by 
the Kirghiz and delivered to the Khivans. It was said 
that these were all the Russians held as slaves in Khiva 
that could be found, with the exception of one old man 
taken in Perovsky's disastrous expedition, who, having 
become a Mussulman, married there, and preferred to 
remain. 

The next day we called on Admiral Sitnikoff, who 
likewise received us with great cordiality, and entertained 
us handsomely, giving us every facility for a closer 
inspection of the fleet. 

Having duly reflected on the matter, I determined to 
attempt crossing the Kyzil-Kum alone, on the trail of 
the Kazala detachment. I thought that, with swift 
horses and a good guide, I could reach the Oxus in seven 
or eight days, before Kaufmann would have passed it. 



STOPPED! 21 

Once there, I would trust to my star, if the army had 
crossed, for getting over somehow, and evading the 
Khivan cavalry that would probably be hanging on its 
rear. This course was a dangerous one, and was regarded, 
as I soon learned, by the Russians as not only dangerous, 
but simply impossible. The Kirghiz of the Kyzil-Kum 
were hostile to the Russians, and had besides the repu- 
tation of being robbers and marauders, who would regard 
a small party, during these war times, as a lawful prize. 
Nevertheless, to cross the desert inhabited by them was 
the only plan that seemed to be left open to me. Ee- 
maining here, or going on to Tashkent, was equivalent to 
staying in St. Petersburg. I had already spent so much 
of the ' New York Herald's ' money, that I felt morally 
obliged to push forward; and I was very certain that 
anything less than my entry into Khiva would not be a 
satisfactory conclusion of my undertaking. The position 
of a correspondent is often a very embarrassing one. He 
embarks, perhaps, on an enterprise without fully counting 
the cost, or foreseeing or appreciating half the difficulties 
to be encountered in its accomplishment, and then feels 
obliged to put on a brave face and carry it out at 
whatever risk, when in his inmost self he knows that if 
he were a free agent, he would be among the very last to 
undertake it. In this way he often gets a reputation for 
foolhardiness, or pluck, or perseverance, or " cheek," which 
he really does not merit. 

I soon found that it was easier to resolve upon this course 
than to carry it out. I was casting about for horses, and 
a guide with which to perform the journey, when Captain 
Verestchagin, Colonel G-oloffs successor, called upon us, 
and informed me that he could not take the responsibility 
of allowing me to start upon so dangerous a journey 



22 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

"without the sanction of the G-overnor-Greneral. He 
remained unmoved in this opinion in spite of all our 
arguments, and, as Greneral Kaufmann was in the heart 
of the Kyzil-Kum, nobody knew where, and it might 
take weeks to communicate with him, this determination 
on his part was an insurmountable barrier to carrying 
out my plan. A moment's reflection served to convince 
me that a half-formed design I had conceived of escaping 
across the Syr in the night was impracticable. Besides 
the difficulty of crossing the river, there was the necessity 
of buying horses, finding a guide, and making other 
needful preparations, which could not be done in a small 
place like this under the watchful eyes of Captain Yerest- 
chagin without his finding it out. I determined, how- 
ever, to make an attempt to carry out my original 
design from Fort No. 2, or from Fort Perovsky. Captain 
Yerestchagin did not oppose our proceeding to Tash- 
kent, and I hoped to find an officer at one of these 
places who would not have such exaggerated fears for 
my personal safety. Captain Yerestchagin was very 
polite, nevertheless, and readily agreed to despatch any 
letters we might wish to write to Greneral Kaufmann 
by a special courier. Accordingly we wrote, asking 
permission to go to Khiva, and requesting an answer 
to be sent to Tashkent. 

I may as well forestall my story here by saying that 
Kaufmann had no sooner received our letters, than he sent 
a courier with an invitation for us to come on, accom- 
panied by a map and instructions for the road. Had I 
waited for this answer, however, I should have only 
reached Khiva several' days after its fall. 



A VAGABOND EIVER. 23 



CHAPTEK III. 

FORT PEROVSKY. 

As Mr. Schuyler, on his way to Tashkent, had no business 
in Kazala, and as I was only too anxious to get on to 
Fort Perovsky to try my fortune there, we hurried our 
departure, and after a halt of only three days, replaced 
our baggage in the waggon, took our seats in the tarantass, 
and were once again on the weary post-road. 

Our course now lay along the banks of the erratic Syr, 
whose vagaries we had plenty of time to observe and 
study. 

The Syr is the most eccentric of rivers, as change- 
able as the moon, without the regularity of that planet. 
It is a very vagabond of a river, and thinks no more of 
changing its course, of picking up its bed and walking 
off eight or ten . miles with it, than does one of the 
Kirghiz, who inhabit its banks. The Kussians have never 
been al^le to do anything with it, and I have serious 
doubts of its ever being turned to any account for pur- 
poses of navigation. If the country through which it 
flows were thickly populated, means, it is true, might be 
found to navigate it. But before that can come to pass 
the greater part of its waters will probably have been 
absorbed in irrigating the thirsty sands of the Kyzil- 



24 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

Kum, the most useful purpose to which they can be 



applied. ) 



We were four days reaching Fort Perovsky, which four 
days were to me days of intolerable anxiety and suspense. 
If Kaufmann had advanced as far as was supposed, it would 
require the utmost despatch to overtake him before the 
fall of Khiva, and here I was plodding along at a very 
snail's pace, without even the certainty of being allowed 
to go on at all. 

At length we arrived at Perovsky in the middle of the 
night, to find the whole of the only hotel in the place 
occupied by a Eussian officer. We were offered, however, 
a small room, five feet by eight, without a stick of furni- 
ture, dusty and dirty, into which we were fain to bring 
our mattresses and camp for the night. 

Early the next morning I sent Ak-Mamatoff out to 
find a guide and horses. In spite of all remonstrances, 
I was fully determined to attempt crossing the Kyzil- 
Kum to the Oxus, whether the district superintendent 
should oppose me or not ; and spent the day in filling 
cartridges, and making other needful preparations. Ak- 
Mamatofi" returned in the evening, saying he had not been 
able to find a guide, and that no horses were to be 
obtained in Perovsky. 

I was completely dumbfounded by this announcement. 
I should have been disposed to attempt the journey 
without a guide ; but without horses, of course, this was 
impossible. I then asked him if any camels could be 
procured.- He thought they could, and without any diffi- 
culty. But it was now already night, and nothing 
further could be done that day. The next morning 
he started out early in search of camels and of a guide, 
promising to return soon. 



AN INGENIOUS DEVICE. 25 

We spent tlie day in looking about the town. It was 
just such another place as Kazala. The same mud 
houses, the same little shops and bazaars, the same 
bright costumes and dark swarthy faces, the same array 
of strange outlandish wares, the same little fortress, 
with its guns peering over the walls, and the same broad 
river rushing by. It was here that the Eussians met 
with the first serious resistance offered them in Central 
Asia. I 

The place was defended by Yakub Bek, then in the 
service of the Khan of Kokand, with a skill, courage, and 
daring rarely equalled. After a siege of several days, 
it was at last taken by storm with a great loss of life 
on both sides. Yakub Bek escaped, and has since made 
himself Emir of Kashgar, the most flourishing and 
prosperous country of Central Asia. The place was 
then called Ak-Mesdjid, but the name has since been 
changed to Perovsky, from a mania the Eussians have of 
changing names, often hundreds of years old, to flatter 
the vanity of some military chief. 

Ak-Mamatoflf did not return until evening, and then 
came with the same story ; neither guide, camels, nor 
horses to be found. It appeared to me very strange that 
camels and horses should not be found in a place like this, 
where three-fourths of the property of the inhabitants 
consists in these animals. Ak-Mamatoff was evidently 
lying for some purpose of his own, and a moment's 
reflection served to show me what that purpose was. 
When, just before arriving at Kazala, we disclosed to him 
my intention of going to Khiva, and asked him if he 
would come along with me, he entered into the plan with 
great zest and heartiness, and appeared anxious to under- 
take it. Since then, however, he had spoken of it with 



26 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

great despondency, having probably beard at Kazala 
something of the difficulty of the proposed undertaking, 
and had changed his mind. He had evidently adopted 
the ingenious device of telling me there were no horses or 
camels to be had here, in order to convince me of the 
impossibility of attempting the expedition. There may 
have been likewise behind this some intention of so in- 
creasing the obstacles to my starting, as to induce me to 
pay liberally in case he should find himself obliged to 
go in the end. 

When I arrived at this conviction, and remembered that 
he had thus detained me two days, I felt a strong inward 
temptation to send him at once to his Muslim Paradise. 
By the application of some very forcible arguments, 
however, I succeeded in convincing him that any more 
lies on the subject of horses would result in very dis- 
agreeable consequences to himself, and he started out 
next morning faithfully promising to do his best. 

I may as well state here that Mamatoff was a Tartar 
from Orenburg, who had been recommended to us by 
Bekchurin, a civilised Tartar in that place in service 
of the government. He was about fifty-five years old, 
spoke all the Central Asian languages as well as Eussian, 
but proved to be the most worthless, lazy, thieving, 
contrary old idiot I could possibly have found. In spite 
of his being a Mohamedhan, he used to get drunk, and 
was continually finding pretexts for thwarting my wishes 
and disobeying my orders, as in the present case. 

He returned in the course of the forenoon with a kind 
of renegade Jew, whom he proposed for a guide, and who 
said he had been in the Bukan-Tau mountains, where I 
expected to find Kaufmann, and knew the way there very 
well. 



TRIBULATIONS OF AK-MAMATOFF. 27 

After having concluded a bargain with this individual, 
and agreed upon the number of horses that would be 
required, he suddenly disappeared, and we never saw him 
again — a flat, and somewhat unexpected ending to a long 
and satisfactory negotiation. 

Another day was thus lost, and the result proved so 
exceedingly disagreeable to Ak-Mamatoff, that he started 
off next morning more than ever impressed with the ex- 
pediency of fulfilling our commands. This time he 
brought us a Kara-Kalpak, named Mustruf, who had 
just returned from Irkibai, where he had gone as djigit 
or guide to a small detachment, which left this place to 
unite with the Kazala column. As this man talked as 
though he really meant business, and evidently knew the 
country, I engaged him at his own price, which proved 
to be an outrageously high one, a fact with which I duly 
credited Ak-Mamatoff, It only remained to obtain the 
permission of Colonel Eodionoff, the district governor, 
for the guide to accompany us, without which he would 
not go, however much I might have been disposed to 
start without complying with that formality. We called 
on Colonel Eodionoff, who so far from offering any 
objections to my departure, as had done Captain 
Verestchagin, gave the guide a passport, myself per- 
mission to depart, and rendered me every assistance in 
his power. 

As soon as it became known that I wanted horses, at 
least a hundred were offered me. The street, in fact, 
around our door was soon full of them, thus giving the 
lie direct to Ak-Mamatoff, This he bore with great 
equanimity, however, not seeming in the least discon- 
certed at such overwhelming proof of his own duplicity, 
I bought six at prices varying from six to ten pounds, 



28 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

four for the saddle for myself, Ak-Mamatoff, Mustruf, 
the guide, and a young Kirghiz, whom I had employed at 
Mustruf 's suggestion to help to take care of the horses, 
the other two for the baggage and a little forage, as well 
as the water, we would have to carry with us in many 
places. 

Camels would have been far better as beasts of burden. 
With them I might have taken a tent, carpets, camp-stool, 
and table, and a supply of clothing as well as provisions, 
which would have rendered my sojourn in the desert 
comparatively pleasant. By taking horses only, I should, 
I knew, be deprived of even the comforts of the nomads ; 
but with horses I hoped to make the distance in just half 
the time, and time was with me the great consideration. 
Had I known how long I was doomed to wander about 
in the desert, I would never have undertaken the journey 
with horses only. 



ACEOSS THE SYR. 



CHAPTEK ly. 

AMONG THE KOBBERS. 

It was three o'clock on the afternoon of the 30th of April, 
when I hade farewell to Mr. Schuyler, and stepped into the 
ferry-hoat which was to carry me over the Syr-Darya. 
Three of my little Kirghiz horses had already scrambled 
in along with Mustruf, while Ak-Mamatoff was pre- 
paring to embark with the rest of the horses and baggage 
in a second boat. 

The Syr here was about a mile wide, and the shore, with 
the fort, over which some pieces of twelve were peering, 
and the little mud-built town, with the natives who had 
assembled to see me off, fast receded and grew dim. I 
was soon obliged to take my field-glass to distinguish 
Mr. Schuyler from the crowd, where I easily made him out, 
giving old Ak-Mamatoff his last orders preparatory to 
sending him off with the rest of the baggage and horses. 

On the other side of the river I found a small village 
of Kirghiz, consisting of five or six tents. The in- 
habitants gathered on the shore as we landed, and very 
good-naturedly helped us to unload our boat. Ak-Mamatofi' 
soon arrived in the second boat, with the two horses. Of 
these, one was loaded with the barley we had provided as 



30 CAMPAIGNma ON THE OXDS. 

fodder, tlie other with about 100 pounds of biscuit, sugar, 
tea, a tea-pot, and tea-kettle, hogskins for carrying water, 
called tursuks, leather buckets with long ropes attached 
for drawing water from wells, and my own scanty ward- 
robe. A hundred rounds for each of my guns and revolver 
were equally divided, with many other little traps, among 
the four saddle-horses. 

The baggage having been all packed on the two horses, 
and everything being ready, I slung my Winchester rifle 
across my shoulder, mounted my little Kirghiz saddle- 
horse, and waving an adieu to Mr. Schuyler, whom I 
made out far away on the other shore watching our 
proceedings through his glass, turned my horse's head 
to the south and plunged into the desert. 

My little party consisted of the Tartar, old Ak-Ma- 
matoff, employed as servant and interpreter ; the guide, 
Mustruf, a Kara-Kalpak from Fort Perovsky, and a young 
Kirghiz, named Tangerberkhen, from the same place, 
whose duty it was to look after the baggage and the six 
horses. Being a man of peace, I went but lightly armed. 
A heavy double-barrelled English hunting rifle, a double- 
barrelled shot gun, both of which pieces were breech- 
loading, an eighteen-shooter Winchester rifle, three heavy 
revolvers, and one ordinary muzzle-loading shot gun 
throwing slugs, besides a few knives and sabres, formed a 
light and unpretentious equipment. Nothing was farther 
from my thoughts than fighting. I only encumbered 
myself with these things in order to be able to discuss 
with becoming dignity questions relating to the rights of 
way and of property with inhabitants of the desert, whose 
opinions on these subjects are sometimes peculiar. 

My only thought now was to get away as fast as possible 
from Fort Perovsky, lest Colonel Eodionofi" might change 



AMONG THE KIRGHIZ. 31 

his mind and " send for" me. Once out of sight of the fort, 
with a few miles of desert behind me, I knew I should be 
safe from pursuit. Our departure, therefore, bore a strong 
resemblance to a hurried flight. My plan was to follow 
the course of the Yani-Darya, a small stream which flows 
out of the Syr in a south-westerly direction, to the springs 
of Irkibai, where, as has already been stated, the Grand 
Duke had constructed a fort. From that point I would 
follow his trail, and overtake the detachment. 

Mustruf took the lead, myself, Ak-Mamatoff, and the 
young Kirghiz following, each of the two latter leading a 
horse. Our course lay to the south-west, and we left the 
river almost directly behind us. Its valley here was very 
sandy, and covered with tufts of coarse tall grass. Eeeds 
and tangled masses of a fine wiry thornbush, that some- 
times attained a height of twenty feet, formed a dense 
impenetrable jungle, in which the tigers of the Yaxartes 
find a safe retreat. There were occasionally small patches 
of fine green grass, and little groves of a kind of thorny, 
scrubby tree, resembling the wild plum of America, 
None of these were out in leaf as yet, but the singing 
of birds, and the scent of early flowers betokened the 
approach of spring. 

We occasionally met a Kirghiz horseman, with his old 
matchlock slung across his shoulders, who looked at me 
curiously as he rode by, but always saluted me with a 
respectful salaam. Of course my people had to stop and 
have a talk upon these occasions, and each man received 
a full account of me ; where I was from, where going to, 
who I was, and what was my business, as far as old Ak- 
Mamatofi" knew it, probably with the addition of a good 
deal he did not know. 

We continued our march till about sunset, when we 



32 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

entered a dense thicket of the thornbush before mentioned. 
Through this a bridle path had been worn, which led ns 
out into a delightful little glade, covered with a carpet of 
rich green grass. This glade was surrounded on three 
sides by the jungle through which we had just passed, 
while on the fourth it ran down to the edge of a broad 
river, which I was very much surprised to see was the 
Syr. I soon learned that the river made a broad sweep to 
the south, and at this point our path again approached 
its banks. In the middle of this little glade was a 
Kirghiz aul, consisting of four or five kibitkas or tents. 
An aul, it should be observed, is the Tartar word for 
village, but means here a nomadic or wandering village, 
because among the Kirghiz there are no other kind. 
Mustruf rode up to one of the tents, from which two or 
three women and several children had emerged, and asked 
something in Kirghiz. A larger tent farther on was 
indicated. Ak-MamatofF then proposed stopping here for 
the night. Being now fairly started, and quite out of 
the reach of the Eussian police, and as it was, besides, 
about sunset, I consented. So we rode up to the large 
tent, the owner of which had made his appearance at the 
door. He and Mustruf shook hands, stroking their beards 
and -exchanging salutations, being, as it turned out, 
old friends. After a moment's conversation, of which I 
could see I was the subject, the Kirghiz motioned me to 
dismount ; I complied, and he then shook hands with me, 
stroking his beard, and pronouncing a salaam. I was 
next led into the kibitka with the gravest politeness, 
and invited to seat myself on sundry bright-coloured rugs 
and carpets, which were spread across one half the tent 
for my reception. 
I was now for the first time in the midst of the Kirghiz 



I 



PEACE OR WAR. 33 

of the Kyzil-Kum, and beyond the protection of the 
Kussians. These people, as I have already said, have 
the reputation of being robbers and murderers; and I 
had sufficient property to make a rich prize for even 
the richest amongst them. When starting into the 
desert I knew I must adopt one of two systems in dealing 
with such a people. Either fight them, or throw myself 
entirely upon their hospitality and generosity ; I chose 
the latter system. 

So, now, on entering the tent, I unslung my Winchester 
and handed it, along with my belt and revolver, to my 
host. Then throwing myself on the ground, I enjoyed, 
tired as I was, the soft rugs and bright fire, which burnt 
in the middle and sent up a column of blue smoke 
through a hole in the top. My host hung my arms up 
in the tent, and then went out to see what my people 
were doing with the horses, leaving me to the care of two 
very ragged, high-cheeked, small-eyed women, who, going 
about their household duties, cast on me from time to 
time a curious, but discreet glance. 

The scene was a pretty one. Through the open side of 
the tent I could see the horses cropping the rich grass, 
the children playing about the green, the smoke curling 
over the kibitkas in a cozy way, and the river rushing by 
with a subdued murmur. The children of these nomads, 
so far from being shy of strangers, as is usually the case 
among savages, were not in the least afraid of me, and ono 
half-naked, black-eyed little fellow came tumbling into 
my arms, when I held them out to him, with a childish 
trust that was captivating. 

On Ak-Mamatoff''s suggestion, I went out to a neigh • 
bouring pond, and soon brought down four or five ducks. 

It was now nearly dark, and the Syr was rushing by 



34 CAMFAiaNING ON THE OXUS. 

with a low threatening murmur, broken occasionally by a 
heavy startling splash, as its banks tumbled in. The 
other side lay buried in obscurity, out of which the tops 
of the trees defined themselves dimly against the sky. 
Judging by the time we had been on the march, I con- 
cluded that Perovsky was about fifteen miles distant. 
I returned along the bank to the aul, where I found 
that my ducks had created quite a sensation. The 
Kirghiz have such poor arms that they are rarely able 
to shoot anything ; and to have brought down five was in 
their eyes a great feat. 

The ducks were already roasted when I entered the 
kibitka, and inviting my host, as well as everybody else who 
happened to be present, to take part, we gathered around the 
cheerful fire in the middle of the kibitka, and made our 
supper on wild ducks, together with biscuits and some cold 
meat I had brought with me, the latter from Perovsky, the 
former from Orenburg. My host was delighted with the 
biscuit, it probably being the first time he had ever eaten 
white bread. Even black bread is a luxury among the 
Kirghiz, who live on milk and mutton, I now learned 
for the first time that in the hurry of my departure from 
Perovsky I had forgotten to take the knife, fork, tin 
plates, and teaspoon I had provided for the trip ; I was 
obliged to eat with a jack-knife, like the Kirghiz, and stir 
my tea with a twig, hastily cut from a thornbush. The 
Kirghiz, as well as my own people, made their tea by the 
simple and primitive process of boiling it in a large iron 
pot, like soup, and drank it out of small porcelain bowls 
of Kussian make, nibbling a lump of sugar the while. 
They do not indulge in the extravagance of putting sugar 
in the tea itself. 

The fire having now burnt down low, a piece of felt was 



FIRST NIGHT IN THE DESERT. 35 

drawn over the opening in the top by means of a rope, 
making everything snug and cozy for the night. We 
rolled ourselves up in sheep-skins, stretched ourselves out 
on a rug, and soon fell asleep. Thus pleasantly ended 
my first day in the dreaded desert of Kyzil-Kura. 



36 CAMPAiaNING ON THE OXUS. 



CHAPTEE V. 

ON THE MARCH. 

The next morning we were in the saddle by sunrise, and 
after a kindly farewell to our host, we took up our line of 
march in the same order as the day before. Our course 
lay to the south-west across the country, where there 
was neither road nor bridle-path. We pushed straight 
forward, sometimes through tangled brushwood, sometimes 
through tall reeds in which we were completely lost ; 
over low sandy dunes, and again across the bare plain, 
where there was only a littie furze or coarse grass, 

I soon remarked the cry of some bird, which seemed to 
be very plentiful in the reeds and bushes, as we heard it 
around us at every moment. It was a sharp discordant 
cry, resembling that of the peacock, and was always 
instantly followed by a rustling of wings as if the bird 
had flown, I was very much surprised to learn that this 
was the far-famed golden pheasant of Turkistan, and 
became anxious to have a shot at one. This, however, I 
found was no easy matter in the tall reeds. They seem 
to possess a remarkable facility for hiding, in spite of 
their brilliant plumage ; and although I often heard their 
cries within fifty feet of me, I could never succeed in 
starting one, however much I beat the bushes. This was 



A MORNING HALT. 37 

all the more provoking, as I had no sooner left the place 
than the cry would be repeated, apparently on the very 
spot where I had been standing. It was only after I got 
into more open ground that I succeeded in bagging one. 

At last we fell into a beaten path, which led across the 
plain, and which made our progress through reeds and 
brushwood easier and more rapid. We passed many flocks 
and herds of cattle, sheep, and horses, that were quietly 
grazing in the open glades. They were always guarded 
by a Kirghiz on horseback, who usually came forward and 
accosted us ; and then there was always a short halt and 
mutual exchange of questions. These shepherds were 
armed ordinarily with a curved sabre or a matchlock, some- 
times with both, and would often accompany us a short 
distance on our way. The valley of the Syr is very thickly 
inhabited by these nomads, and many thousand sheep, 
cattle, and horses, are annually reared on its banks. 

About ten o'clock we came upon an aul of four kibit- 
kas, and, as we had not yet eaten anything, we halted to 
make a light breakfast. The aul was situated in a little 
thicket of thornbushes, which shut it in on all sides, and 
we might easily have missed it had not Mustruf, knowing 
there was one here, been on the look-out. We found 
our way into it by a circuitous path cut through the 
brushwood. I was glad to take shelter in the shade of a 
tent from the sun, which was already growing hot. This 
was a very poor aul. The felt of the kibitka was old, 
ragged, and full of holes, and there were no pretty rugs 
or carpets to be seen, as in the one where I had passed 
the night. The other kibitkas I perceived, upon visiting 
them, were no richer. 

While preparations were going on for breakfast, I took 
my rifle and sallied forth in search of a pheasant, whose 



38 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

cry I had remarked just before arriving at the aul. The 
plain here was covered for the most part with a short 
kind of furze, a few low shrubs, with here and there a 
dense thicket of thornbushes, like that in which was 
situated the aul, and I concluded I would have a better 
chance than among the tall reeds. I soon perceived 
a beautiful cock emerging from a thicket, with his golden 
wings, green neck, and long tail, almost equalling in 
beauty the rainbow tints of the peacock. He stepped 
proudly forth from the thicket and took his way leisurely 
towards another, occasionally stopping to pick up a worm 
or insect, apparently unaware or unmindful of my presence. 
Slowly raising my rifle so as not to frighten him, I took 
as accurate aim as I could with the sun in my eyes, and 
succeeded in breaking his wings. He ran into the thicket, 
but I got him out and brought him into camp, where he 
was soon stripped of his brilliant plumage and roasted for 
breakfast. 

Observing that I had lost a button from my cap, I 
asked Ak-Mamatoff if he could not sew it on for me. He 
resented doing a woman's work with indignation, and 
went and brought me a young and rather pretty Kirghiz 
girl, and informed me, in an angry and aggressive manner, 
that she would do it, if I would find button, needle and 
thread. The necessary articles were soon produced, and 
she sat down on the ground beside me, amid the giggles of 
three or four friends who had come to see the stranger, 
and now stood around the door of the kibitka, looking 
in. She was a girl of about sixteen, very poorly 
dressed, for which, however, her long black hair, hanging 
over her shoulders in several braids, and her gleaming 
black eyes made ample amends. She handled the needle 
with a good deal of dexterity, without the aid of a| 



THE KIRGHIZ HORSE. 39 

thimble. Her comrades seemed to think it very funny, 
laughed, and made signs to me to kiss her, which hint 
of course I was not slow to act upon, she submitting with 
a very demure grace. I gave her some needles and thread, 
and a little present besides, and was somewhat surprised 
to learn that she was the sister of my young Kirghiz 
Tangerberkhen, who was an inhabitant of this aul. 

After a nap of about an hour, and another cup of tea, 
which, by-the-way, tasted very strongly of mud, the water 
being far from good here, we were once again in the 
saddle. It was now about one o'clock, and the sun was 
fearfully hot. We were, however, on a very good bridle- 
path, and our horses went forward at a gentle, steady, but 
rapid pace. My horses were of the Kirghiz breed — a 
small, but hardy race. They all have, either by nature 
or training, the gait called the amble, which, as is well 
known, is a very easy one for both horse and rider, and 
this they will keep up from dawn until dark, getting 
over an amount of ground in a day that is astonishing. 
Their endurance is such that they will travel fifty miles 
a day for a month at a time, with nothing to eat but what 
they can pick up in the desert and an occasional handful 
of barley. 

As has already been stated, I had six horses. Only 
four of these, however, were pure Kirghiz, the other two 
having a mixture of Cossack or mongrel blood. One of 
these, I have reason to believe, belonged to Mustruf, as 
he was very officious in urging me to buy him at a round 
price, assuring me that he was an excellent horse, and, 
what was of more importance to me, would perform the 
journey well. I took him against my own judgment, as, 
although a fine-looking beast, with heavy black mane and 
tail, he was rather lean to undertake a long journey. For 



40 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

a distance ttat can be made in three or four days a lean 
horse is best, but for a month's steady marching a fat one 
is absolutely necessary ; and 1 soon had reason to regret 
not having had the courage of my own opinion, as this 
animal became food for the jackals long before I reached 
the Oxus. 

The Kirghiz, unlike the Turcomans, take no care of their 
horses. They never clean or groom them, nor stable 
them, except in the very coldest weather, and they rarely 
feed them with grain. In winter they give them a little 
hay, if they have it, and if not, they clear the snow from 
the ground, and let them take their chances along with the 
sheep and cattle. In summer they live on what they can 
pick up in the desert, just as do the camels ; and although 
on the Syr here the pasture is good, a little farther south 
in the Kyzil-Kum it is very different. The result is, 
that they are probably the hardiest race of horses in the 
world, can live anywhere a camel can, and they will 
travel as far without water, but not for as many days. 
They have neither the speed nor the size of the Turco- 
man horses, however. 

In a half an hour from this aul we approached and 
crossed for the first time the Yani-Darya, along which 
our course lay. It is very small and crooked, and was 
almost dry. We did not follow its circuitous windings, 
but continued our course straight to the south-west, 
crossing and recrossing it several times before reaching 
Irkibai We now found ourselves in a country broken 
up by canals for irrigation, which were for the most part 
dry, owing to the fact that the Syr had not overflown this 
year. The soil appeared rich enough, but was dry and 
parched already, with great cracks running through 
it, showing how hot it was here, although it was only 



A FOKETASTE OF THE DESEET. 41 

the first of May. There were no habitations, but many- 
little enclosures, some of brush simply stuck in the 
ground, only sufiicient to mark a boundary, and incapable 
of preventing animals from passing, others simply formed 
by the narrow banks of the canals. There was little 
vegetation, as the extreme dryness of the ground seemed 
to have soaked up the snow as fast as it melted, but the 
ground was covered in many places with the dry stalks 
of last year's weeds. 

A few miles further on we left these signs of irrigation, 
and came upon a rolling sandy country with here and 
there a little lake or pond shut in by the small sand- 
hills, and almost hid from view by the tall reeds. Two 
or three of these were covered with duck, and I soon 
succeeded in obtaining enough for dinner for the whole 
party. The sun grew very hot in the afternoon, and 
I could scarcely have believed that the difference in 
the temperature could have been so great in a few 
days. We even commenced to suffer from thirst, as we had 
tasted no good water since morning. 

"We were now in the desert, or rather we commenced 
crossing wide stretches of sand, varied by occasional 
streaks of ground that had lately been under cultivation ; 
and it was curious to observe the difference between the 
desert and these spots, the former having by far the 
advantage. The land that had been irrigated only the 
year before was parched and dry, seamed and cracked by 
the sun, with not the slightest vestige of vegetation, while 
the desert was almost green with the budding brushwood 
and thin grass, which always shoots up immediately after the 
snow melts, and flourishes until the summer heat scorches 
it to death. There were plenty of wild tulips already in 
bloom, as well as a good many other flowers, of which 



42 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

I made a collection as I passed along. The tulips were 
very pretty, the calyxes about the size of a small wineglass, 
the petals a pale yellow, and the bottom a deep purple. 
I observed that they seemed to have a very formidable 
enemy in a small brown animal about the size of a rat. 
called by the Eussians suzlih, which digs down to the 
bulbs and completely hollows them out, leaving only a 
thin rind. 

Towards evening we came upon a Kirghiz burying- 
ground, consisting of several tombs and one tall hollow 
tower of mud, with a winding stairway inside. Near 
it was a well, the water of which was very warm, and 
tasted besides so strong of something like straw, that 
it was almost impossible to drink it. We slaked our 
thirst as best we could, however, and, having watered our 
horses and taken a short look at the graveyard, continued 
our march. 

The plain was almost level, so that we could see for 
miles in every direction, but no sign of life greeted our 
eyes. We had left the populous lands of the Syr behind 
us. In another hour we came upon a well, the water 
of which was deliciously cool and sweet ; and before 
proceeding farther we filled our leathern bottles, warned 
by the day's experience not to trust too confidently to 
the plain. 

At sunset Mustruf began to look about for an 
aul, which he thought must be somewhere in our 
vicinity. We pushed on until dark, however, without 
finding one, and were about casting around for a good 
spot to camp, when a broad blaze of light lit up the 
western sky two miles to the right of our path. We 
immediately started in that direction, and in a few 
minutes Mustruf and myself, who had put our steeds 



AN EVENING SCENE. 43 

to the gallop, reached an aul of some dozen kihitkas, 
situated near a little pond whose banks were fringed with 
a rich greensward, affording delicious pasturage for our 
horses. 

We had come to a fertile spot, a kind of oasis apparently, 
where there was plenty of grass and water, which I ac- 
counted for by supposing we had again approached the 
Yani-Darya. 

This was my first day's ride, and as I had been in the 
saddle altogether about eleven hours, I was pretty tired ; 
and no sooner had Mustruf led the way to the kibitka 
whose owner was to entertain us, than I alighted, and 
taking my saddle-blanket, stretched myself out on the 
ground. Our host first invited me into the tent — an in- 
vitation which I declined, preferring to enjoy the cool 
evening air before the door. Immediately he brought out 
a carpet, which he spread on the ground, and requested 
me to take a place on it, seating himself at the same time 
in order to engage me in a conversation. 

As my knowledge of Tartar was, however, confined to 
a very few words, and as Mustruf knew no Eussian, he 
was obliged to await the arrival of Ak-Mamatoff for more 
than an exchange of civilities. He greeted me gravely 
and politely, however, stroking his beard and bowing low. 
He was a large, finely-built man, and had a heavy beard 
— a thing very unusual among the Kirghiz. Indeed, I 
learned upon the arrival of Ak-Mamatoff that he was 
not a Kirghiz, but a brother of Mustruf's, and a Kara- 
Kalpak, which accouuted for the beard. The Kara-Kalpaks, 
although nomadic in their habits like the Kirghiz, living 
side by side with them, and often intermarrying, seem to 
belong to an entirely different race of men. They are 
generally well-formed, much taller than the Kirghiz ; and 



44 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

instead of the small eyes, higli cheek-bones, flat noses, 
thick lips, and round beardless faces of the latter, they 
have large open eyes, long faces, high noses, and heavy 
black beards, and their skin, when not exposed to the sun, 
is almost as white as that of Europeans. 

Who they are, how they came here, where they came 
from, is one of those historical, ethnological questions 
which will probably long remain unsolved. That they 
are not of the Mongolian race is very evident, but what 
they really are it would be difficult to say. 

By this time supper and tea were ready ; the ducks 
were roasted, and we all gathered around the cheerful 
blaze in the kibitka to partake of the meal. 

After supper, I stepped outside the tent to take a look 
on the surrounding scene and enjoy the cool air of the 
evening. The new moon was just setting, lights were 
gleaming in every direction over the plain, showing that 
ours was not the only aul in the vicinity. The bleating 
of sheep and the lowing of cattle could be heard, mingled 
with the playful bark of dogs and the laughing voices of 
children, which came to us on the still evening air like 
music. 

In places the weeds and grass of last year had been 
fired to clear the ground for the new growth, and broad 
sheets of fire crawled slowly forward over the plain, 
while huge volumes of dense smoke, that caught the light 
of the flames below, rolled along the sky in grotesque 
fantastic shapes like clouds of fire. 



THE SAX-AUL. 45 



CHAPTEE VI. 

A KIRGHIZ CHIEF. 

Do RING the next day I began to observe a kind of 
plant that gave out a very fragrant aromatic odour when 
trampled under the horses' feet. This I soon discovered 
to be absinth. The plain was in some places covered 
with it, and I observed that the horses ate it with 
pleasure. 

Here also were from time to time thickets of a kind 
of low scraggy, gnarly, bush, varying from a foot to 
six feet high. The wood is very hard and brittle, so that 
it is more easily broken than cut, and it is so hardy, 
that it flourishes even in the bleakest and most desolate 
places. It is called by the Kirghiz sax-aul, a name 
they give, however, to any kind of wood serving for 
fuel. 

In the course of the morning we saw four or five 
"saigaks," a kind of desert antelope, resembling some- 
what both the antelope and the goat. I tried to get a 
shot at them, but my people, who had not the most 
elementary notions of stalking, made so much noise that 
they soon took the alarm and were off like the wind. I 
gave chase, and followed them to a place where the stunted 
bushwood took the dimensions of small trees, ten or fifteen 



46 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

feet high, but it was all in vain, Nothing can overtake 
these animals but the fleet-footed greyhound of the Turco- 
mans, While riding back to the path we were following, I 
remarked that the sax-aul here, although so large, owing 
probably to the greater richness and humidity of the soil 
or sand, still maintained its peculiar characteristics — 
hard, dry, knotty, scrubby, gnarly and twisted as a ram's 
horn. Half of it seemed to be dead or dying, and as the 
spring leaves had not yet come out, the whole presented a 
bleak forbidding aspect, like a goblin forest that had been 
scorched and withered by some terrible curse. 

This morning's ride was delicious. The cool air, 
laden with the aromatic fragrance of the wild absinth 
that was crushed beneath our horses' feet, was a very 
delight to breathe. 

At noon, however, the sun began to grow very hot, and 
observing a horseman a mile or two away to the north 
watching us, Mustruf galloped off to see him, suspecting 
the presence of water there. After a moment's con- 
versation with the stranger we saw him making signs to 
us to advance, and leaving our path we struck across the 
plain, and soon rejoined him. We found not only one 
strange horseman, but four or five. They were Kara- 
Kalpaks, as their stalwart forms and heavy beards indicated, 
and they manifested their hospitality by taking charge of 
my horse immediately and offering me a cup of tea they 
had just made, I soon learned that they had chosen this 
spot for the noon halt of their aul, which was on its way, 
and which in fact soon arrived. 

The work of breaking up camp, taking down the kibitkas, 
and packing them with the household goods on the backs 
of the camels, and driving forward the flocks and herds, 
devolves upon the women and boys ; the men in the mean- 



BUILDING THE KIBITKA. 47 

time mount their horses and ride forward to find a place 
for the next encampment. The men we now spoke to had 
chosen this spot on account of a pond, or puddle rather, 
of muddy water in the vicinity, and the grass, which was 
reasonably good for the desert. 

The aul soon arrived ; the camels with the women and 
children came trooping in in a long line, followed by the 
flocks of sheep and of cattle, which immediately scattered 
themselves over the plain in search of pasture ; the camels 
were made to kneel by a jerk of the cord around the 
muzzle or through the nostrils, in guise of bridle ; the 
women descended, and immediately commenced setting 
up the kibitkas and unpacking the household goods, in 
which task they were little helped by the men ; fires were 
lit, kettles put on, and everything was bustle, life, and 
animation. 

I was very much interested in watching the women set up 
the tents, and the speed with which they accomplished it. 

The framework of the kibitka, or Central Asian tent, is 
comjposed of a number of thin strips of wood six feet long, 
loosely fastened together in the form of a vine-trellis ; 
this frame opens out and folds up compactly, so that it 
may be placed on a camel. The sticks forming this frame 
are slightly curved in the middle, so that upon opening 
out it naturally takes the form of a segment of a circle. 
Four of these frames complete the skeleton sides of the 
tent. On the top of this are placed some twenty-five 
or thirty rafters, curved to the proper shape, the upper 
ends of which are placed in a hoop, three or four feet in 
diameter, serving as a roof-tree. 

As soon as the camel carrying the felt and framework 
of a kibitka arrived, he was made to kneel down, two 
women seized the framework, set it up on end, and 



48 CAMPAiaNING ON THE OXUS. 

stretched it out in form of a circle, one holding it while 
the other fastened the different parts together. Then the 
doorposts were set up, and a camel's-hair rope drawn 
around the whole, to bind it tightly together. One of 
them then took the wooden hoop, which serves as roof- 
tree, and elevated it inside the tent by means of a stick 
inserted in one of the many holes with which it is per- 
forated, while the other immediately commenced inserting 
the rafters, some twenty or thirty in number, the bases of 
which are fastened to the lower framework by means of 
loops. The heavy rolls of felt are then drawn over this 
skeleton, and the kibitka is complete. It is about fifteen 
feet in diameter and eight feet high, and in shape not 
unlike an old-fashioned straw beehive. The whole opera- 
tion only requires about ten minutes, and it is so solid 
that any wind short of a tornado will not budge it. 

Upon returning from a short and unsuccessful search 
for game, I was surprised and pleased to learn that my 
comfort had not been forgotten in the general bustle and 
confusion. The chief of the aul had ordered a spaall 
kibitka to be set up for my own especial use, to which 
he now led me with grave politeness. I found it nicely 
carpeted and provided with several soft, bright-coloured 
coverlets and cushions, which were deliciously luxurious to 
my weary limbs. 

I invited my kind host to share a pheasant I had killed 
in the morning and to take tea with me, which invitation 
he accepted. I was very much surprised to see him 
arrive shortly afterwards with a Kussian samovar hot and 
steaming, all ready to make tea. And when he observed 
that I had no teaspoon, and that I was stirring my tea 
with a twig of sax-aul, he sent for one, and presented 
it to me. This, together with the offer of the nicely fur- 



A DINNEE IN IHE DESEET. 49 

nished kibitka as a shelter against the scorching noonday 
heat, was such a piece of real kindness and hospitality as 
is rarely met with except in the desert. 

For my own part, I made a display of all my wealth in 
provisions. I had some of Liebig's extract of meat — 
by-the-way, about the most villainous compound I have 
ever tasted — which, with some dried vegetables, I had 
made into a soup ; also some pate de foie gras, that 
pleased my Kirghiz friend immensely, and a quantity 
of dried fruit, known in Central Asia as hishmish. 
Kishmish, which consists of raisins, dried apricots, and 
peaches, is considered a great delicacy in the desert. I 
had besides some chocolate, which so pleased my guest 
that he sent off some to his wife and daughters. I then had 
some fresh sweet milk boiled, into which I broke a quan- 
tity of biscuit. This was the great triumph of the meal, 
and gave immense satisfaction. Then we drank our tea 
from large bowls, which was the only thing I had in the 
way of dishes. These bowls, enclosed in a lightly orna- 
mented leather case, are attached to the saddle, and form a 
part of the accoutrement of every horseman in the desert. 

While taking tea, I offered him a cigar, which he at 
first refused, "When he saw me light one, he changed 
his mind and followed my example with great zest, thus 
showing that he first refused because he did not know 
what the cigar was. He then showed me some paper 
and tobacco for cigarettes, as well as a pipe, the use of 
which he had learned from the Eussians. He assured 
me, however, that the cigar was better. 

While smoking our cigars, I opened through Ak-Mamatoff" 
a general conversation with him, our few and desultory 
remarks up to that moment having been confined to the 
necessary questions and answers relating to the meal. 



50 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

He informed me lie was a chief, that his name waa 
Dowlat, and that he governed under the Russians two 
thousand kibitkas. Each kihitka paid three roubles a 
year taxes to the Eussians — that is, about nine shillings 
of English money. When I asked him if they were satis- 
fied with the Eussian rule, he said " Yes," but at the same 
time significantly shook his head. He added that they 
very often had to pay tribute to the Khan of Khiva, who 
likewise claimed as his subjects all the Kirghiz living 
between the Amu and the Syr, 

I told him that when the Eussians would have conquered 
the Khan and brought him to terms, this state of things 
would be put an end to ; but he shook his head sadly, as 
though the prospect were anything but pleasing. Pro- 
bably he did not look with any great pleasure at the 
prospect of the last stronghold of his religion being 
subjected to a Christian power. 

The mode of life of the Kirghiz is very peculiar. 
The three winter months are passed in mud habita- 
tions on the banks of some river or small stream. 
When the snow begins to melt, they start out on their 
yearly migrations. For nine months they never stop 
in one spot more than three days, and all the time 
live in tents. They continue' their march often until 
they have travelled three or four hundred miles ; then 
they turn around and go back exactly the same route, 
reaching their winter quarters again when the snow hegins 
to fall. It is hard to find what motive guides their 
selection of places beyond the respect for tradition. A 
spot which one aul deserts, another is glad to occupy : 
and often a body of Kirghiz leaves good grazing ground 
behind to travel hundreds of miles away to far inferior 
pasturage. 



THE MARCH OF AN AUL. 51 

For instance, the Kirghiz, who winter on the Oxus, 
migrate in the spring to the Syr and even farther north ; 
while some of those on the Syr go south to the Oxns, and 
others north to the Irghiz. Many of those on the 
Irghiz migrate either still farther north or take a 
southerly direction to the Syr. To anybody unacquainted 
with their habits of life, there does not seem to be the 
slightest system in their movements. They have a system 
nevertheless. Every tribe and every aul follows year 
aftei" year exactly the same itinerary, pursuing the same 
paths, stopping at the same wells as their ancestors did a 
thousand years ago ; and thus many auls whose inha- 
bitants winter together, are hundreds of miles apart in 
the summer. The regularity and exactitude of their 
movements is such that you can predict to a day where, 
in a circuit of several hundred miles, any aul will be at 
any season of the year. A map of the desert, showing all 
the routes of the different auls, if it could be made, 
would present a network of paths meeting, crossing, in- 
tersecting each other in every conceivable direction, 
forming apparently a most inextricable entanglement and 
confusion. 

Yet no aul ever mistakes its own way, or allows another 
to trespass upon its itinerary. One aul may at any point 
cross the path of another, but it is not allowed to proceed 
for any distance upon it. Any deviation of an aul or 
tribe from the path which their ancestors have trodden is 
a cause for war, and, in fact, nearly all the internecine 
struggles among the Kirghiz have resulted from the en- 
croachment of some tribe, not upon the pasture grounds, 
as might be supposed, but upon the itinerary of another. 

The inhabitants of an aul are almost always relations. 
In many cases they seem to have been founded by two or 



52 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

three brothers, who, with their wives and children and 
grandchildren, make up a little community, occupying 
Qsually from five to ten kibitkas. • 

The Kussians, when they first conquered the Kirghiz, 
found this system very embarrassing; and thinking it 
would be impossible to keep any account or control of the 
people while thus wandering from department to depart- 
ment, tried to make territorial divisions among them and 
to confine each tribe to a certain section of country. As 
might have been foreseen, the attempt was a failure. 
Besides the impossibility of enforcing the order, it was 
found that it resulted in continual warfare among the 
Kirghiz themselves, as they could not be made to under- 
stand what their rights really were. 

Accordingly they soon returned to the old order of 
things ; and the governors of the departments of Orenburg 
and Turkistan agreed to consider the winter quarters of the 
Kirghiz as their residence, regardless of their migrations, 
in order to determine which department should have juris- 
diction over them. 

I took occasion now to ask my friend why his people 
did not stay in the same spot, instead of continually 
wandering from place to place. The pasture, he said, was 
not sufficient in one place to sustain their flocks and 
herds. 

" But why do those who live on the Syr in the winter 
not stay there in the summer, where the pasture is good, 
instead of wandering off into the desert, where it is thin 
and scarce ?" I ask. 

" Because other auls come ; and if they all stayed, they 
would soon eat it all bare." 

" But why do not the other auls stay at home on the 
Amu and the Irghiz, instead of coming ?" 



" OUR FATHERS NEVER DID SO." 53 

" Because other auls come there too," he replied. 

" But why do not they all stay at home ?" 

" Well, our fathers never did so, and why should we not 
do as they have always done?" he replied. And I suppose 
this is about as near the true reason of their migration 
as any other. 

To tell the truth, this nomadic mode of life is, probably, 
better adapted to the desert than any other. 

I was further informed by my friend, that the Kirghiz 
live principally on milk, and sometimes a little flour, 
with an occasional piece of mutton. He himself, he said, 
had mutton or bread as well as tea and sugar every 
day. After an hour's talk my host left me, and, as the 
kibitka was delightfully cool, I stretched myself for a nap. 
When I awoke, I found the horses saddled and everything 
ready for starting. Swallowing a cup of tea, I mounted 
my horse and started, first giving a hearty shake of the 
hand and a half-dozen cigars to my kind entertainer. 

Towards evening, we seemed to approach the Yani- 
Darya. Here there was a little forest of some kind of 
wood different from the sax-aul, and not unlike the 
American burr-oak ; many of the trees being twenty-five 
or thirty feet high. In the middle of this wood was a low 
mound, partly surrounded by what appeared to have been 
a very deep ditch, and which looked like the remains of 
some ancient earthwork. I asked Mustruf about it, but 
he was unable at the time to give any satisfactory answer. 
I afterwards learned that it was the site of an ancient 
town, which had been abandoned on account of the drying 
up of the waters of the Yani-Darya. 

Although there was plenty of grass and water here, 
Mustruf preferred pushing forward in search of an aul 
to camping. We accordingly continued our march until 



54 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

long after dark. Leaving the Yani-Darya behind us, 
we entered upon a dry, open, level plain, where there was 
very little vegetation of any kind. Our horses trotted 
silently along, their hoofs touching the soft, yielding, 
dusty ground as lightly as though they had been muffled. 
After hours of travelling, when I began to think we would 
probably have to pass the night on the open plain, without 
shelter, I was startled to hear the voice of a child. We 
turned in that direction from which I had heard the voice, 
and, after going half a mile, caught a gleam of light and 
the glimmer of water in the spectral moonlight. 

At the prospect of food and rest, our horses broke into 
a joyful neigh, and after a few minutes' gallop brought us 
within the precincts of a small aul. 




INTERIOR OF KIBITKA. 



CHARMING SALUTE. 55 



CHAPTER VII. 

A KIRGHIZ LOVE STORY. 

A BRIGHT fire flashing up out of the darkness, and 
throwing a ruddy light over bright-coloured carpets, rugs, 
and cushions; around and above a light trellis-work of 
wood, covered by thick white felt, against which are 
hanging cooking utensils and various articles of house- 
hold use, a sword and gun, saddles and bridles, a three- 
stringed Tartar guitar, thrown carelessly aside, was the 
scene that greeted me on stepping out of the desert into 
the tent. 

The kibitka was the largest I had ever seen, being fully 
twenty feet in diameter ; and the felt, with which it was 
covered, was clean and new, and of almost a snowy white- 
ness. It was easy to perceive that the young Kirghiz 
who had offered me his hospitality was one of the richer 
class. At a word from him, two young girls, evidently 
sisters, and probably twins, came forward with downcast 
eyes, and saluted me each in her turn by taking my hand 
between both hers, and then laying it on her heart with 
a pretty modest meekness that was perfectly bewitching. 
This is the manner, as I afterwards observed, in which 
the women always salute husbands, brothers, fathers, and 
lovers, and, judging by myself, guests also. It was done 



■J 



56 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

with such a simple pretty grace, accompanied by a timid 
glance of the dark eyes, that I thought I had never in my 
life seen prettier or more interesting faces. And, in truth, 
they were very pretty. Bound, fresh faces, in which the 
Mongolian type had entirely disappeared ; rich olive com- 
plexions that were perfectly transparent ; their hair, black 
as night, hung down over their backs in two rich heavy 
braids, reaching almost to the feet, and their dark soft eyes 
were fringed with long heavy lashes, such as are rarely 
seen except among the Caucasians. They were dressed in 
khalats, or tunics of red silk, ornamented on the sleeves 
and around the edges with a kind of embroidery in 
various colours, and covered with a number of broad thin 
silver buttons. The khalats were fastened at the throat 
with a coral button, but hung loosely open in front, ex- 
posing a chemise of white silk, reaching to the knee, and 
worn carelessly open on the bosom in a very piquant 
manner. White trowsers of the same material, with red 
boots, completed a very simple, but, for the desert, very 
becoming costume. 

The brother wore a short, tight-fitting jacket of some 
red stuff, half silk, half wool, likewise ornamented with 
silver buttons ; wide leather trowsers of a bright yellow, 
and embroidered nearly all over in a variety of curious 
patterns ; a sash of yellow silk, in which were stuck a 
knife and an old flint-lock pistol very prettily inlaid with 
silver, a light jaunty cap made of the fur of some animal, 
and loosely-fitted boots of unblacked leather. 

Handing my rifle and revolver to him, I threw myself 
on the rugs before the fire with a delicious sense of 
repose, while Ak-Mamatoff drew off my heavy riding-boots 
and replaced them with a pair of slippers my host had 
instantly provided. 



I 



AEOUND A KIEGHIZ HEARTH 57 

There is always a small space in the kibitka un- 
carpeted. When making your toilet you simply kneel 
down on the edge of this spot, while water is poured over 
your head and hands from a tea-kettle, or a leather pail or 
bottle, and sometimes from a copper ewer of a very elegant 
shape, often met with among the Kirghiz — from what- 
ever vessel, in short, comes first to hand. The dry sand 
drinks up the water instantly, and in a moment all trace 
of it has disappeared. 

A large iron pot was set over the fire on a big iron 
ring. This ring had legs attached, and when afterwards 
set up on its edge, did duty as a crane to hang the tea- 
kettle on. My people soon came in, and, together with 
three or four neighbours, squatted down around the fire 
and set up a lively chattering. The Kirghiz do not sit 
down cross-legged like the Turks, but go down on their 
knee with their weight thrown down back on their feet, 
which are twisted and pressed down flat, with the heels 
outward. However natural and easy an attitude to the 
Kirghiz, a European, who ever hopes to walk again, 
should never attempt it. I was the subject of the conver- 
sation, as I could easily see from their occasional glances 
towards me, and I inferred, from certain bursts of as- 
tonishment and other signs of surprise, that Ak-Mamatoff 
was indulging his imagination by drawing the long bow 
to its utmost tension about myself. The Kirghiz, unlike 
the Turks and Arabs, are very loquacious and fond of 
gossip. The whole evening passed in a continual flow of 
conversation, in which there was much mirth and laughter. 
In about half an hour the contents of the great pot 
were turned out into a large wooden dish ; wooden spoons 
were provided, and I was invited to take my place with 
the others around it. Our meal consisted of a kind of 



17 



58 CAMPAIGNma ON THE OXUS. 

mutton broth, thickened with something like wheaten 
grits, and very palatable. We all ate from the same dish 
in the most amicable manner, but there was unfortunately 
not enough, and I had seen that afternoon neither duck 
nor pheasant. There was plenty of good fresh milk, 
however, and ordering a quantity of it to be boiled, I 
broke some of my biscuits into it. My Kirghiz friends, 
who had probably never tasted such a dish before, were 
delighted beyond measure, and by the time we had con- 
cluded the meal with a little chocolate and Mshmish, 
we were all in the merriest possible humour, and had 
forgotten the howling waste outside. All this time the 
two girls kept in the background, and it was only on my 
repeatedly insisting, that they came forward and took 
their share of the meal. 

Our supper over, I asked my young friend for some music, 
pointing at the same time to the guitar. He complied 
very readily, and sung three or four songs, accompanying 
himself on the instrument. One or two of the songs were 
hailed with shouts of laughter and merriment. He also 
sung one or two war songs, in which he celebrated the 
feats of ' some Kirghiz hero against the Turcomans, and 
these also were greeted with applause. 

The guitar was a small instrument, with a body in 
shape something like a pear cut in two lengthwise, and 
about a foot long, while the neck was three feet. It was 
made of some dark wood resembling walnut, and had one 
brass and two catgut strings. The frets were not arranged 
so as to produce the chromatic scale. The airs of the 
songs would, I think, have been pretty, though very 
peculiar, but for the shrill high key and disagreeable long 
nasal whine in which they were sung. This manner of 
singing is universal in Central Asia; I remarked the 



I 



A PROPOSAL OF MARRIAGE. 59 

same thing at Khiva, and among the Bokhariots who 
accompanied the Kussian expedition. This, however, did 
not prevent the singing from heing very amusing, and, 
taken together with the surroundings, very interesting. 
The place, the wide desert without, the cheerful fire within, 
throwing a ruddy light over the wild faces and strange 
costumes, the arms, saddles, hridles, and accoutrements, 
and the two young girls with their wild beauty, made up 
a very pretty picture. I tried to get the girls to sing, but 
they modestly declined, and no inducement could prevail 
on them to do so. Then I laughingly got Ak-MamatofF 
to make one of them a proposition of marriage for me, 
which they heard with many blushes and much laughing, 
Ak-Mamatoff told me, however, that I would have to 
make the proposition to the brother, who had the right to 
give them away if he wished ; and that besides I should 
bestow on him a present, and on the girl a dower in ad- 
vance. I accordingly offered the brother one of my rifles, 
and the girl a horse, a camel, and a kibitka furnished, and 
twenty sheep. This proposition was received with grave 
faces by the girls, who began to look upon it as serious. 
But they told Ak-Mamatoff to inform me that I would 
have to marry them both, as they would not separate 
from each other. It was not for me to object to so 
agreeable an arrangement, and of course I readily con- 
sented. It would have been a pity to separate them. 
I may as well add here, that upon starting away next 
morning the brother told Ak-Mamatoff to tell me that he 
had talked the matter over with his sisters, and that when 
I came back that way they would give me an answer. 

The Kirghiz may have more than one wife, as all 
Mohamedhan peoples, but they rarely avail themselves of 
the privilege. Marriage among them is looked upon as 



J^ 



60 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

any other business transaction, and is not a religious 
ceremony at all. The man buys the girl from her father 
with a present or presents, in proportion to the 
wealth of the parties concerned. It is a fact worth 
stating, that this sum is not usually retained by 
the father, but returned to the young couple, and 
thus becomes the wife's dower. It is sometimes, how- 
ever, held in trust by the father, as a protection to the 
wife in case her husband should send her back; for a 
husband has a right to put away his wife at any time, 
though the right is rarely exercised. If this has not been 
done, however, the wife, upon being sent back to her 
father, can take with her all the property originally given 
by the husband. 

In other words, the husband, instead of seizing the 
wife's property upon marriage, as is the law in civilised 
countries, actually protects her against future want. This 
barbarous custom will no doubt be abolished with the 
advent of modern civilisation and enlightenment. 

In case the husband dies, it is the custom, as in the old 
Jewish dispensation, for his brother, if he have one, to 
marry the widow — a custom which probably arose from a 
desire to keep the property in the family. 

In eliciting this information, I drew out a story from 
the young Kirghiz, which shows that human nature is 
very much the same in all places, and that love rules 
supreme as well in the desert of the Kyzil-Kum as else- 
where. Polat, a young Kirghiz, was afl&anced to Mnna 
Aim, the most beautiful maiden of the aul of Tugluk. The 
Kalym or wedding present had been given to Ish Djan, her 
father, and the day was fixed for the marriage. Before it 
arrived Polat died, and Muna Aim was freed from her 
promise. Then Suluk, the brother of Polat, came forward 



"SHE LOVED AZIM." 61 

and claimed her as his wife. He wanted to get back his 
brother's property, which the girl had received as a dower, 
and her father said she must marry him. But she considered 
herself a widow now, and had enough to live on. So she 
thought she had a right to do as she pleased, and refused 
to marry. Her father drove her out of his kibitka. Then 
she took her camel, her sheep and goats, her clothes and 
carpets, and went out from her father's kibitka. She 
bought a little kibitka, and lived all alone by herself, and 
milked her own sheep and goats, and drove them to pas- 
ture, and drew water for them from the well. And when 
the aul moved, she moved with the rest, and set up her 
kibitka not far from the others. Then all the old women 
got very angry with her. " What is the matter with 
Muna Aim ?" they said. " She will not go to her husband, 
but lives all alone like an outlaw. Let us go and reason 
with her." And so they went, and scratched her face, and 
pulled her hair ; but Muna Aim only cried, and wrung her 
hands, and would not go. And they used to gather 
around her tent every day, and call her bad names, and 
torment her until she nearly cried her eyes out. But 
all the same; she would not yield. Then Suluk took 
the matter in his own hands, and went with three or 
four friends one night to her kibitka, and broke it open to 
carry her off to his tent, and make her his wife by force. 
But she fought like a wild cat, so that they all together 
could not succeed. When they dragged her to the door, 
she caught the door-posts with her hands, and held so fast 
that they had to take their knives and cut her fingers to 
make her let go. When they at last got her out of the 
tent, she had not a rag of clothes left, and was covered 
with blood from head to foot. But she still fought ; and 
Suluk got on his horse and caught her by the hair, 



62 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

and dragged her until it came out by tlie roots, when he 
rode off, and left her on the ground, naked and half-dead. 

" But why wouldn't she marry him ?" I asked. 

" Because she loved Azim." 

" And where was he ?" 

" Away off in another aul, which wintered in the same 
place as this one, but went a different way in the summer. 
You see she never loved her intended husband, and only 
consented to marry him because her father told her to." 

" But how did it all end ?" 

" Why, the Yarim Padshah heard the story, and sent 
some Cossacks for Suluk, and took him, and he was 
never seen afterwards." 

" What became of him ?" 

" I don't know. They say he was sent so far away he 
will never come back again." 

" And the girl, did she die ?" 

" No ; she got well, and when she came back to the winter 
camp she met her old lover, and they were married." 

" And did not the old women interfere ?" 

"No; they were afraid of the Yarim Padshah." 

The " Yarim Padshah," the half-emperor, is the name by 
which General Kaufmann is known all over Central Asia. 

I afterwards asked Kaufmann if the story were true. He 
corroborated it in every particular, adding the important 
detail that Suluk, the would-be lover, had been sent to 
Siberia. 

About ten o'clock the girls retired to one side of the 
tent, drew a red curtain, which I had not observed before, 
across, and were soon fast asleep in each other's arms. 
After a look at the horses I threw myself on the ground 
before the fire, and watched its flickering, dying flame 
until I went to sleep. 



I 



THE KIKGHIZ CHARACTER. 63 



CHAPTEE VIII. 

A GLOOMY NIGHT. 

I WOULD here remark that my sojourn with the Kirghiz 
left a most favourable impression upon me. I have always 
found them kind, hospitable, and honest. I spent a whole 
month amongst them ; travelling with them, eating with 
them, and sleeping in their tents. And I had along 
with me all this time horses, arms, and equipments, 
which would be to them a prize of considerable value. 
Yet never did I meet anything but kindness ; I never lost 
a pin's worth ; and often a Kirghiz has galloped four or 
five miles after me to restore some little thing I had left 
behind. Why talk of the necessity of civilising such 
people ? What is the good of discussing, as Mr. Yambery 
does, the comparative merits of Eussian and English 
civilisation for them? The Kirghiz possess to a re- 
markable degree the qualities of honesty, virtue, and 
hospitality — virtues which our civilisation seems to have 
a remarkable power of extinguishing among primitive 
people. I should be sorry indeed ever to see these simple, 
happy people inoculated with our civilisation and its 
attendant vices. 

Next morning, I bade my host and his pretty sister 
farewell, not without some feeling of sadness. To each I 



64 CAMPAIGNINa ON THE OXUS. 

gave as a parting gift what I thought would be most ac- 
ceptable : to the brother a pocket-knife ; and to the 
sisters, earrings and other little articles of jewelry. 

In the course of this day's journey we passed several 
Kirghiz tombs. These tombs are very large ; consisting 
of a central dome, thirty or forty feet high, and enclosed 
by a high wall, forty or fifty feet square ; and, in fact, 
could easily be turned into a formidable fortress for a 
small party. 

Passing through a small forest of sax-aul, eight or ten 
feet high, we came out on a very poor aul, consisting of 
three kibitkas, which, covered with ragged felt and without 
rugs and carpets, presented a very miserable appearance. 
Here I tasted for the first time the well-known airan 
of the Kirghiz, This is made from the milk of camels, 
sheep, and goats, mixed together ; which being set, 
while still warm from the animals, over a slow fire until it 
turns, takes a sharp acrid taste. It thus becomes a very 
agreeable and palatable drink in hot weather, and pos- 
sesses the advantage of always tasting cold, even on the 
warmest day. In summer it forms almost the entire 
food of the Kirghiz. They have another kind of drink 
made of mares' milk fermented, which they call humiss. 
It foams and sparkles, and has a taste slightly resembling 
champagne, very refreshing in hot weather. 

As night approached, the wind rose until it became a 
regular hurricane. The air grew thick with dust, and 
the sun itself was hidden, so that night came on an hour 
earlier than usual. In such circumstances we thought it 
high time to look for an aul. On and on, however, we 
went until long after dark, scanning the horizon in every 
direction without success. At last we sent off Tanger- 
berkhen to scour the country, as Mustruf thought there 



THE DESERT FOE BED. 65 

must be an aul somewhere in the vicinity. The wind, 
rising every moment, was making a deafening noise, and 
we could at times scarcely see ten yards before us, while 
the dust arose in tall whirlwinds, that went scudding 
along in the pale moonlight like desert spectres. 

At last we heard Tangerberkhen calling to us, and his 
voice, borne, through the obscurity, on the gusty wind, had 
a strange unearthly sound. After some difficulty we 
made out the direction whence it came, and started 
towards him, hoping the longed-for aul had been found. 
But no sounds of welcome greeted us here, nor bleating 
of flocks, nor lowing herds, nor merry voices of children, 
nor the thousand pleasant sounds of aul life. Only 
blasts of wind, and clouds of whirling dust, through which 
the moon's pale light struggled feebly, casting dim 
spectral shadows over the desert. We found Tanger- 
berkhen by the side of a puddle of muddy water, about 
ten feet in diameter, near a clump of sax-aul bushes. 
What was to be done? To go forward against this 
beating wind was impossible; to find an aul in this 
darkness hopeless. Plainly we saw that there was nothing 
for it but to camp in the open desert for the night, 
with the sand for a bed, and unsheltered by a friendly 
tent from the cold, the wind, and the dust. 

We accordingly dismounted : Mustruf and Tanger- 
berkhen fed and watered the horses, while Ak-Mamatofi" 
gathered fuel. In a few minutes a large bright fire was 
blazing, casting a ruddy glow over the desert. We bent 
together a few low bushes, and covering them with our 
saddle-cloths and horse-blankets, soon had a kind of half 
tent, afi'ording us a little shelter from the wind. 

Tea was soon made with the water we had fortunately 
brought with us, and our supper of a little cold mutton 



66 CAMPAIGNINa ON THE OXUS. 

soon despatched. Then wrapping ourselves up in our 
sheepskin overcoats, we threw ourselves into the im- 
provised tent. Our heads in our saddles, our faces to 
the moon, and our feet to the fire, with the wind still 
blowing a hurricane, we sink into a dreamless sleep. 

After a hard day's ride in the desert, sleep comes easy, 
but the waking is bitter. At this season, the nights are 
as cold as the days are hot ; and the hour before dawn 
is almost freezing. As you awake, you find your limbs 
stiff, sore, and benumbed ; every movement is a painful 
efi'ort, and your little hollow in the sand is a bed of 
thorns. A drowsy stupor hangs over your whole frame ; 
and it is almost agony to think of the long, weary journey 
that must be commenced. 

During the whole of the next day we continued our 
journey over rolling ridges of sand, entirely destitute of 
vegetation and of any track of the feet of men or animals. 
In the course of the afternoon I killed a saigak. Later on 
we came to a newly-dug well at the foot of a stunted 
tree in the dreariest little valley I ever saw. Nothing 
was to be seen but the yellow sandy dunes and the 
gravel-filled valley, upon which the sun poured down 
its hottest afternoon rays. A crow, that had built its 
nest in the topmost branch of the tree, which cawed 
hoarsely as it made vicious darts at us, was the only 
living thing visible. The ground was strewn with the 
shells of turtles which had been sacrificed to the appetite 
of the young crows. 

Once during the day we lost our way. Upon consult- 
ing my compass, I found we were going towards Kazala ; 
that is to say, in the very opposite direction to our des- 
tination ; and for a while I suspected Mustruf of treachery. 
He explained the matter by saying that we would reach 



THE AGONY OF THIEST. 67 

the road from Kazala to Irkibai by going a short 
distance in this direction. * 

The few hours that followed this discovery were the 
most painful I had yet passed in the desert. First, we 
wandered about without knowing the way, and apparently 
without any prospect of ever reaching it. And then, to 
add to our misfortunes, we had to undergo all the agonies 
of thirst. Owing to the negligence of Mustruf, we had 
brought no water with us. I had drunk nothing since 
the evening before but a little muddy tea ; and the long, 
hot march of the day, together with the extreme heat, had 
utterly undone me. My exhaustion was not to be wondered 
at ; for I was still fresh from the snows of Siberia. I 
had only been four days in the desert, and during each of 
these days I had ridden nearly fifty miles. My throat 
seemed to be on fire, and the fever commenced mounting to 
my head; my eyes grew inflamed and unsteady, in spite 
of all I could do. I began to fear seriously an attack of 
brain-fever. For miles around the desert presented the 
same bleak, parched appearance. And then, as we had lost 
our way, there was no knowing when we could quench 
our thirst ; the thought of going another day or even 
passing that night without water was almost maddening. 
At length, after hours of intense suffering, just as the 
sun was setting, we struck the road from Kazala to 
Irkibai, over which the Grand Duke had passed. After 
some anxious searching we found near here a shallow 
pool of slimy water. It was thick with mud; and after 
drinking it my mouth, throat, and stomach were coated 
with slime, the taste of which remained for days. A 
hasty meal, and we threw ourselves in utter exhaustion 
on the sand. 

When I awoke it was three o'clock in the morning. 



68 CAMPAIGXIXG OX THE OXUS. 

and the stars were still shining. My people were saddling 
the horses preparatory to an early start ; and long before 
the first streaks of day had begun to light up the eastern 
sky we were advancing on the trail of the Grand Duke's 
army towards Irkibai, which we hoped to reach before 
the heat became oppressive. 

At nine o'clock we came to a spot where the country fell 
away in a kind of lower terrace, over which we could see 
for miles. It was thickly covered with a growth of sax- 
aul just coming out in leaf. This, though only four 
or five feet high, seen in the vast valley from our 
elevated position, had all the grandeur of an oak forest. 
In the middle of this plain was some kind of a fortress, 
which, in the distance, I at first took for the fort of 
Irkibai. We reached it after an hour's ride, and then 
found it to be an old ruin. To approach, we had to 
cross the dry bed of a very large canal and to ascend 
a little hill. We then discovered the crumbling founda- 
tions of an outer wall, and, mounting still higher, found 
ourselves among the ruins of an ancient city. 



A RELIC. 69 



CHAPTEE IX. 

AN ANCIENT CITY. 

The ruin was all covered over with brushwood, but 
fragments of wall fast crumbling away appeared in every 
direction, and on the summit of the hill were two very 
large towers. Built of sun-burned bricks, they had 
crumbled away under the action of the atmosphere, and 
might easily have been mistaken for large mounds of earth, 
but for the fact that one side was pretty well preserved. 
The position of the gate was still distinguishable, and 
the rubbish filling it up might easily have been cleared 
away. Mounting to the top of one of the towers, which 
was about thirty feet high, I found it sunk in places, and 
giving forth a hollow sound to our feet, showing that 
beneath there was a very large cavity. 

The city was about a mile in diameter, and completely 
surrounded on three sides by a wide, deep canal, now dry, 
while the Yani-Darya bounded the place on the north-west, 
and completed the circle. Inside the canal, at the distance 
of fifty feet, and extending entirely around the city, were 
the remains of a wall fifteen or twenty feet high in some 
places, with occasional watch-towers of greater height 
and in a better state of preservation than the rest. The 
whole place was built of the same sun-dried brick. 



70 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

The side next the river was still good enough to make 
the use of a ladder necessary to get over the walls from 
the outside. The Yani seems to have been 100 yards 
wide here, judging from its ancient bed. 

I was told by Mustruf that this city had been built by 
the Kara-Kalpaks, who, driven from the banks of the Syr, 
had settled here in 1760. They had not only built a town, 
but had brought the water all the way from the Syr, a 
distance of 200 miles, by excavating the bed of the 
Yani-Darya, thus actually making a new river. The 
name " Yani-Darya " signifies " new river," which gives 
some show of reason to Mustruf's story. 

I have heard, however, from other sources that the bed 
of the Yani-Darya is of much more ancient date. Late 
investigations prove that it was once a great stream, and 
it is even supposed that it is no less than the ancient bed 
of the mighty Syr. It is a strange circumstance that 
there should be found indications tending to prove that 
the Syr, as well as the Oxus, formerly flowed in a different 
channel from its present one, and that the ancient 
courses ascribed to both rivers should be nearly parallel 
to each other, and should both run south to the Caspian 
Sea. Has some mighty convulsion, some volcanic upheaval 
of the country thus changed in a single movement the 
course of two great rivers, or have more simple means, 
working uniformly over the whole country, produced the 
strange coincidence ? 

However that may be, the banks of the Yani were evi- 
dently at no remote period teeming with life and covered 
with populous villages, instead of the few wandering 
tribes that now haunt them. This accounts for the works 
of irrigation, which so much excited my curiosity all the 
way from Perovsky. What causes have led to the sudden 



A VANISHED RIVEE. 71 

abandonment of the formerly productiTe oasis is not clearly 
known ; but the drying up of the Yani-Darya is the direct- 
one. Mustruf told me that it had only been abandoned 
since the arrival of the Eussians, who had cut off the water 
in order to make the Syr navigable for their steamboats. 
This statement, however, I do not credit, as these ruins 
evidently date further back than fifteen years ago, when 
for the first tirtie the Eussians occupied this part of the 
Syr. It is nevertheless true that the ruins are not very 
ancient, as it does not take long for mud-walls to crumble 
and disappear when deserted by man, and left to the 
summer heat and winter snows to work their will upon. 

The Yani formerly continued its course some fifty 
miles farther, and then formed a kind of shallow marsh, 
where it was lost. Now, marsh and river have alike 
disappeared. The fact, however, of the river having been 
made by the people is one of considerable importance, 
as showing the capability of the Kyzil-Kum for irri- 
gation and cultivation. The Syr affords probably a supply 
of water sufficient to irrigate the desert between it and the 
Oxus, and the fact of the desert sloping off to the latter river, 
with a decline of 100 to 200 feet, makes it a comparatively 
easy process. It is true that there would be no water left 
in the Syr for the purposes of navigation unless, indeed, it 
were turned into a large canal. But even were that 
river made navigable, as it might be, it would be of little 
use while it flows through a desert only inhabited by a 
few wandering nomads. I believe that, with the progress 
of the Eussians in Central Asia, the whole country 
between the Syr and the Amu will one day blossom as 
the rose. 

General Kaufmann has already undertaken extensive 
works for irrigation near Samarcand, which, although 



72" CAMPAIGNINa ON THE OXUS. 

interrupted by the expedition against KhiTa, will be 
resumed this year. He proposes assembling 50,000 
Kirghiz on the line of the projected canal, providing 
them with implements and provisions, and hopes thus 
to finish the work in a single season. The Kirghiz under- 
stand thoroughly the importance of a work which will 
enable them to become proprietors of a rich piece of land, 
and enter into it with enthusiasm. Once the practicability 
of the plan is demonstrated, there is little doubt that, with 
an increasing population, many parts of Central Asia, now 
arid wastes, will become as rich in soil and productions as 
Khiva and Bokhara. 

Resuming our march after a short halt here, and still 
proceeding along the valley of the river, we met in about 
half an hour two Russian soldiers coming along the well- 
beaten road. This told me that we were not far from the 
Russian fort. So we urged our horses forward, and emerg- 
ing from a little forest of sax-aul, espied at a short distance 
an earthwork on the edge of a dry arid plain, before which 
stood a crowd of Russian soldiers and officers watching 
our approach. 



"NOT THE KHIVAN AMBASSADOE?" 73 



CHAPTEE X. 

IKKIBAI. 

"What has kept you so long?" was the first question 
asked me upon riding up to the group of officers. 

" I do not think I have been very long," I replied ; " less 
than four and a half days." 

"Four and a half days," exclaimed the officer who had 
addressed me ; " why you left Kazala thirteen days ago." 

I was considerably alarmed to find my interrogator so 
familiar with my movements, and began to fear that the 
same authority which had refused me permission to leave 
Kazala had sent forward orders to stop at this point my 
further advance. It was with a good deal of trepidation 
therefore that I replied : 

" Yes, but I was detained four days at Perovsky." 

" Perovsky!" said he, in astonishment. 

" Why, yes," I replied, deprecatingly ; " I left there only 
four days ago.'' 

" Are you not with the Khivan ambassador, and is that 
caravan not yours ?" he asked, pointing in the direction 
whence I had come. I looked back, and beheld immediately 
following Ak-Mamatoff, Tangerberkhen, and my pack- 
horses, a long line of camels, which moved forward with 



74 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

their slow, steady tread. This was the caravan of the 
Khivan amhassador. 

It was now my turn to he astonished ; for the embassy, 
leaving Kazala at the same time as myself, had been 
able to take a direct route, and had, unlike me, been 
subjected to no delays on the way. I had at one time 
even thought of accompanying the ambassador, had 
not my plans been frustrated by my friend, Captain 
Yerestchagin, at Kazala. 

" Who in the name of all the devils are you, then ?" 
my interrogator next asked, finding I was not part of the 
Khivan party. 

I explained that I was an American on my way to join 
Greneral Kaufmann's army. 

"Well this is the most extraordinary thing I ever 
heard of ; I can hardly believe it. I suppose your papers 
are all right though, so get down from your horse and 
come in ; you look tired." 

In a few minutes the officer who had addressed me had 
a kibitka set up for my accommodation, into which he now 
kindly led me. His name was Captain Hiezing, and he 
proved to be the commandant of the post. During the 
short period of my acquaintance this officer treated me 
with a kindness and a hospitality I shall not readily 
forget. -He invited me to dine with him, an invitation 
I was only too glad to accept, as I had not yet broken 
my fast ; and afterwards showed me over the little 
fort. It was a simple earthwork, with two corner 
bastions, surrounded by a shallow dry ditch, and de- 
fended by two pieces of cannon. I did not wonder at the 
small size of the work when I learned that it had been 
constructed by the Grand Duke Nicholas on his passage, 
in twenty-four hours. The garrison consisted of two com- 



NO NEWS OF THE KAZALA COLUMN. 75 

panies of infantry, with a few Cossacks. Soldiers as well 
as officers were supplied with kibitkas, and there was a 
large store of barley. The water was excellent and 
plentiful, but the position was exceedingly unpleasant. 
There was little sand here, and the hard dry soil was soon 
trampled into dust by the soldiers, and blown about by a 
strong wind in clouds that were at times almost suffo- 
cating; and this combined with the heat, which had 
become excessive, made my short stay here exceedingly 
disagreeable, in spite of the kindness of the Russian 
officers. 

Upon inquiry I learned that nobody knew anything of 
Kaufmann, and that no news had been received of the 
Kazala column since its departure two weeks ago. From 
the fact of the Khivan ambassador having been sent on 
from Kazala, the commandant inferred that Kaufmann was 
awaiting his arrival somewhere or other in the desert. 
To this supposition I gave little weight. An army was 
by no means likely to remain in the desert, awaiting the 
snail-like pace of the Khivans. I had no doubt that 
Kaufmann was continuing his march to the Oxus with all 
despatch, and I resolved to start early next morning on 
the trail of the Grand Duke. 

The commandant offered no objections to my departure, 
except upon the score of danger. He thought the way very 
unsafe, and advised me to go with the Khivan ambassador, 
who was provided with an escort of twenty-five Cossacks, 
besides his own followers. This proposal, however, I 
declined. 

I paid a visit to the Khivan ambassador, who was not 
allowed to enter the fort, but camped outside at a short 
distance from it. He had some twenty-five or thirty 
camels to carry his provisions and baggage, and was what 



76 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

would be considered in Centrtil Asia a very great ambas- 
sador. Greatness here as elsewhere has its drawbacks. He 
was such a very great man that he could not compromise 
his dignity by any unseemly haste in his movements. 
Thus he had left Khiva with orders to meet Kaufmann 
at Kazala, but his motions had been so leisurely that he 
reached that place some days after Kaufmann had passed 
through. 

After a halt sufficiently long to demonstrate to the 
Kussian general how mistaken he was if he supposed the 
representative of Khiva in a hurry to treat, he started 
back with the intention of meeting General Kaufmann 
in the desert. But here again his greatness so retarded 
his movements that he only reached the Eussian general 
several days after Khiva had fallen. By that time the 
importance of his mission had somewhat diminished. 

The Khivan ambassador started early on the morning 
of the 7th of May, but I did not get off till the afternoon. 
Kind old Captain Hiezing had insisted on my breakfasting 
with him, and then made me stay and take coffee after 
my little caravan had already started. He had given me 
ten bushels of barley for my horses, for which he refused 
to take any pay, saying he would report the matter to 
General Kaufmann's quarter-master, who might charge if 
he thought fit. He likewise gave me several introductions 
to officers of his acquaintance, and altogether treated me 
like a long-lost prodigal son. 

At last I mounted my horse, and shaking hands with all 
the officers for the last time, I galloped away from the 
little fort with Mustruf, who had been waiting impatiently 
for me more than two hours. 



NOR RIVER NOR WELL. 77 



CHAPTER XL 

THE THIRSTY DESERT. 

The road we were following was broad and well beaten. 
It was a regular caravan route, and bore many marks of 
the passage of the Grand Duke Nicholas; amongst the 
rest were prominent the bodies of dead camels that had 
fallen by the wayside from exhaustion. An hour's gallop 
brought us up to my caravan, which was plodding lazily 
along. It had been augmented by the addition of two 
horses and a Kirghiz carrier, with the mail which Captain 
Hiezing had entrusted to my care. 

Now we enter for the first time that part of the desert 
which offers the greatest danger to the traveller, and 
surrounds him with the greatest horrors. The friendly 
rivers and the frequent wells and pools of water have 
been left behind. Yet the face of the country is fair. 
Gentle elevations roll off in every direction, covered with 
masses of verdure of a dark rich green, that rival in 
exuberance the luxuriant carpet of an American prairie ; 
and the sun, shining down from an unclouded sky, turns 
the spots of yellow sand, seen here and there, into patches 
of glorious golden light. 

But all this beauty is deceptive. These gentle hills 
are only sand, and the verdure which clothe them hides 



78 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

horrors as great as those covered by the roses that twine 
themselves over sepulchres. Blossoms shoot up, ripen, die, 
and rot, in the course of a few days. The verdure consists 
of but a rank soft weed that breaks out into an eruptive 
kind of flower, which, dropping oft' at the slightest touch, 
emits a most ofi'ensive odour. Beneath the broad leaves 
lurk scorpions, tarantulas, immense lizards, often live 
or six feet long, turtles and serpents, and the putrifying 
bodies of dead camels. Once lost in this desert ocean, 
without guide or water, you may wander for days, until 
you and your horse sink exhausted to die of thirst, 
with the noxious weed for bed, winding-sheet, and grave. 

Upon this world of desolate life, this plain of charnel- 
house vegetation, we enter with a sickening feeling of 
depression. Kyzil-Kak is the first well we can meet ; and 
between this and us lie sixty miles of desert. For all 
this way we have but two hogskins of water — about eight 
gallons — which are to be divided among five men and eight 
horses. AYe urge our horses forward at a rapid pace. 
The angry sun sinks slowly down the western sky, as 
though loth to leave us, and then suddenly drops below 
the horizon. The shades of evening gather, the desert 
fades into the gloom of night, and then suddenly reappears 
again, weird and spectral in the shadowy light of the 
rising mOon. The hours slip by ; we pass the silent tents, 
and smouldering fires, and crouching camels of the Khivan 
ambassador, who has camped here hours before,* and 
though the moon has now mounted to the meridian, we 
still continue our rapid course. 

A hurried nap, and again we are on our way. The red 
sun flashes angrily upon the eastern horizon, and now 
there is scarcely any vegetation — not even the poisonous 
upas-like weed. Hotter the sun grows as we advance. 



THE PITILESS SUN. 79 

and more fiery, until he reaches the zenith, and glares 
fiercely down on us from the pitiless sky. The sands 
gleam and burn under the scorching heat like glowing 
cinders ; the atmosphere turns to a misty fiery glare, that 
dazzles the eye and burns the brain like the glow from a 
seven times heated furnace ; low down on the horizon the 
mirage plays us fantastic tricks with its spectrum-like 
reflections of trees and water — shadows, perhaps, of the 
far-off gardens of Khiva and the distant Oxus ; our horses 
plod Avearily forward through the yielding sand with 
drooping head and ears, until at last I find myself, as 
evening approaches, lying exhausted on the sand by the 
well of Kyzil-Kak. 

Three or four Kirghiz, with their camels and horses, 
had already watered their animals at the well, and were 
just going away. When they saw us arrive, tired and 
exhausted, they immediately stopped, and began to draw 
water for us and our horses in the kindest manner. The 
well was about sixty feet deep, and was walled up with 
the hard, gnarly, crooked trunks of the sax-aul. Near the 
mouth, which was very narrow, was a little basin eight 
or ten feet in diameter, formed in the earth with the aid 
of the same desert tree. Into this the water was emptied 
for the animals to drink. The labour of drawing water 
from deep wells for flocks and herds is no inconsiderable 
one, and the Kirghiz always employ the aid of a horse. 

These wells are very curious. Nobody ever saw them 
dry, nobody knows by whom they were dug, and they 
are now in exactly the same state as when, centuries ago, 
the hosts of Tamerlane slaked their thirst at them. 
Centuries have gone by, and generations, and even races 
of men have passed away, the world has grown old, but 
the pure, sweet waters are as fresh and sparkling as ever. 



80 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

After a short halt to feed our horses, and a light meal 
of biscuit, fresh milk, and airan obtained from the 
Kirghiz, we resumed our saddles a little before sunset. 
We were scarcely on the road before we met a caravan. 
Each camel, as he passes, turns his head and stares at 
yeu with his great intelligent eyes as though he would 
speak. The Caravan Bashi — or leader of the caravan 
— at last comes up ; we halt, and there is an exchange 
of news. 

After the usual salutation, we inquired if they had seen 
anything of the Eussian army. 

" Oh, yes !" was the reply, " at Tamdy." 

" Where is Tamdy ?" I ask, getting down from my 
horse and proceeding to look at my map. 

" Ten days from here," was the reply. 

" Ten days ? Impossible !" 

The map, however, showed that the place was about a 
hundred and sixty miles distant, in a straight line from 
Kyzil-Kak — probably two hundred miles by the road. 
And it would take, at the ordinary caravan's pace, the 
time mentioned by the Bashi. 

It will be remembered that, when I started from Kazala, 
I was under the impression that Kaufmann, in going to 
Khiva from Tashkent, would first march in a north- 
westerly direction from Djizak to the Bukan-Tau moun- 
tains ; there form his junction with the Kazala column ; 
and then march south to the Oxus. As I was now within 
a day's march of the Bukan-Tau mountains, I had reason 
to hope that I was on the heels of the army. 

Imagine my state of mind on learning that I was almost 
as far from Kaufmann, after seven days' march through 
the desert, as I thought I was when I started from Perov- 
sky. Perhaps, however, I began to think, he had not 



MUST I GO BACK ? yi 

yet reached the Bukan-Tau mountains, and had not yet 
begun his march to the Oxus. And if he was marching 
from the south towards the mountains, I, proceeding from 
the north to the same point, would undoubtedly meet him. 
Must he not be there now, as the caravan had passed him 
ten days ago ? 

" Which way was he going ?" I asked. 

" South." 

" South ? Why, Kaufmann is coming north-west to- 
wards the mountains here." I began to believe that they 
had not seen the Russians at all. 

"No. He had just marched for Aristan-Bel-Kuduk, 
which was south." That was a name Commandant Hiezing 
had spoken of, and this statement was therefore probably 
true. Where was Aristan-Bel-Kuduk. 

" Two days' march south from Tamdy." 

I began to grow uneasy. Aristan-Bel-Kuduk was 
not on the map ; but I had naturally supposed it to be 
in the Bukan-Tau mountains. If it was therefore two 
days' march south of Tamdy, and not west, Kaufmann 
must have taken an entirely different route from the one 
originally intended. He must have decided to march 
due south to the Oxus more than ten days ago, instead 
of to the Bukan-Tau mountains, and I was completely 
astray. Instead of overtaking him in one or more days, 
as I had fondly hoped, I might now be weeks. The 
success of my undertaking seemed hopeless. 

What was I to do ? Go back ? That was almost 
as difficult as going forward. With many misgivings 
I resolved to go on ; and we resumed our march. 
We travelled nearly all night, and at half-past five 
o'clock next morning, just after sunrise, we first came 
in sight of the Bukan-Tau mountains, still about 



82 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

twenty-five miles distant. The country here changed 
its rolling character, and sloped off in an even slightly- 
ascending plain, while the mountains themselves pre- 
sented a dark grey united front, bare and barren, treeless 
and lifeless. 

While halting here to admire the scene, we were over- 
taken by an aul of fifteen or twenty camels and kibitkas 
on its march towards the Bukan-Tau. The camels were 
heavily laden, and it was curious enough to see a whole 
family, with all its household goods, stowed away on the 
back of one of these patient, gentle beasts. Often a 
single camel bears not only a kibitka with all its fur- 
niture on its back, but also two women with three or four 
children, the women as snugly seated as though in a 
carriage ; the children as soundly asleep as if in the 
most fashionable baby-cart. 

By nine o'clock we had reached the foot of the moun- 
tains. Here we found an aul or two, near a spring of 
excellent water. "We camped, and in a few minutes my 
travelling friends had set me up a kibitka, into which I 
threw myself, more utterly exhausted than ever before 
in my life. Although it was still early in the day, 
the sun shone down upon us with such terrible violence 
that it was almost insupportable, and the shade fur- 
nished by the tent was a delicious haven of refuge. 
Besides, with the exception of a little tea, biscuit, and 
airan, I had eaten nothing since leaving Irkibai, fifty 
hours previously, and in that time I had travelled about 
one hundred miles. After a cup of tea, that was speedily 
prepared for me, and instructions to Ak-Mamatoff to buy, 
if possible, a sheep, I threw myself on the rugs that had 
been placed beneath the friendly shade of the kibitka, and 
instantly fell into a deep and dreamless sleep. 



A SCARE. 88 



CHAPTEK XII. 

THE BUKAN-TAU. 

The Bukan-Tau mountains are not more than a thousand 
feet high ; are bare of vegetation ; not even a shrub nor a 
blade of grass relieves their desolation. Their formation 
is of a very rotten kind of sandstone, which seems to be 
crumbling continually away. We were camped at the 
northern end of the range, and it was at Myn-Bulak, 
only some forty miles distant, that I expected to overtake 
Kaufmann when I left Fort Perovsky. Although so small, 
these heights presented all the characteristics of great 
mountains, in their miniature peaks, cone-like summits, 
deep valleys, and awful precipices. 

We halted here the rest of the day ; and next morning 
we took up our line of march around the northern slope 
of the Bukan-Tau. They fell off here into a gentle 
descent blending gradually with the plain. Once we had 
a slight scare, which served to awaken us to the reality of 
the danger to which we might at any moment be exposed. 
Mustruf and myself had left the rest of the party far 
behind, and ascended a low eminence to await their coming 
up. While here we beheld about a dozen horsemen 
approaching by the road before us. They had no camels 
with them, and therefore could not be an aul, and were 



84 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

all armed with guns slung to their backs. Mustruf 
looked frightened, for the Turcomans often make raids 
upon the Kirghiz as far north as the Bukan-Tau, and 
this might very easily be a party of marauders. As I 
afterwards learned, there actually was a party prowling 
about in the mountains at this very time. 

We prepared our arms, and looked around anxiously 
for Ak-Mamatoff, whom we descried far away on the edge 
of the plain. Upon nearing us, however, we perceived 
they were Kirghiz, and Mustruf was soon among them 
shaking hands. We halted for a talk and an exchange 
of news. They gave information of the Grand Duke 
Nicholas, whose detachment they had accompanied from 
Kazala in the capacity of guides. 

The Grand Duke, they said, had formed his junction 
with Kaufmann at Aristan-Bel-Kuduk ten days ago, and 
the two detachments had taken up their march for Karak- 
Aty. Here was more discouraging news. I looked upon 
the map, and found Karak-Aty about forty miles south of 
Tamdy, and if Kaufmann had marched from Aristan-Bel- 
Kuduk ten days ago, he must have already passed Karak- 
Aty on his way to the river. I observed that the latter point 
was no farther than Tamdy, from where we now were, 
and that a caravan route branching off to the south at a 
well a few miles ahead seemed to lead to it. This road, 
therefore, I determined to take. 

At noon we descended suddenly into a little valley 
which came down out of the mountains. This was the 
valley of Yuz-Kuduk, or the hundred wells. It was 
completely bare of vegetation, except a very little thin 
grass, but there was a small stream of water trickling 
down through it which gladdened our eyes. It was very 
narrow, a mere gully coming down between two bare, 



THE SWEET COOL WATER. 85 

gravelly, sandy mountains. Following it up about a 
quarter of a mile we came to the water. There were 
distributed along the valley about twenty-five or thirty 
wells or springs, in some of which the water came out at 
the surface, in others stood at a depth of from five to ten 
feet. In the latter it was deliciously sweet and cold, 
and quickly dismounting, we let down our tea-kettle by 
a rope. Ah ! the sweet, cool water, how refreshing it was 
to our parched throats and swollen lips and sunburnt, 
grimy faces. 

From here to the next well, a distance of twenty-five 
miles, the country, although still sandy, was high and 
broken up with occasional hollows and gullies, and I 
observed to the left a low range of mountains parallel to 
our route, extending north-east and south-west. This 
range is not down on any map yet published, but it seems 
to be the continuation of the Urta-Tau mountains, which 
are marked on the latest map of Khiva published by 
the Kussian Staff. I found them here fully a hundred 
miles farther west than they are marked on that map. 
They rose to the north-west in a succession of long slopes, 
each of which broke off suddenly and presented a bold 
declivity to the west. There were three of these between 
Yuz-Kuduk and Tandjarik, a distance, perhaps, of fifty 
miles. 

After travelling the greater part of the night, we 
reached about noon next day the well of Tandjarik. It 
was situated a mile from the road, and we only discovered 
it by perceiving some Kirghiz in the distance watering 
their sheep and horses. We found them, upon ap- 
proaching, gathered around a low mud-wall, which served 
as the well-curb. They immediately gave places to us 
and helped us to water our horses. Afterwards one of 



86 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS, 

them, better dressed than the ordinary Kirghiz, invited us 
to his aul, and offered me the hospitality of his kibitka. 
As the sun was at its hottest, and we were entirely with- 
out shelter, I accepted gladly, and after watering our 
horses, we mounted again, and followed our hospitable 
acquaintance. The aul was fully three miles distant, and 
after wandering through an interminable path, among the 
low sand-hills and sax-aul, we came unexpectedly upon it, 
snugly hid in a little hollow in the sand. It consisted of 
ten or twelve kibitkas placed without any regard to order 
or regularity. 

We descended, and he led me in and presented me, as it 
seemed, to his wife and daughter-in-law, the first rather 
old and ugly, the latter young and pretty. They took 
my hand in both of theirs, and pressed it, and then laid it 
upon their hearts in sign of welcome. I threw myself 
down on the mats which the two women spread for me, 
and proceeded to get off a three days' accumulation of 
dust from my face, hands, and boots, and was just making 
myself comfortable for an afternoon nap, when an old 
woman came rushing in and stood before me, crying, 
wringing her hands, and pouring forth a torrent of words 
of which I could only distinguish the one word " Turkmen." 
I looked at my host for an explanation, but as we could 
not talk to each other without the help of Ak-Mamatoff, 
who was engaged somewhere about the horses, he only 
shrugged his shoulders; but I thought he looked as 
though it were ah old story. The old woman, having 
finished her tale, sat down next the door, and watched 
me with eager eyes that made me uncomfortable. 

When Ak-Mamatoff came in, she told the story over 
again, and he then gave it to me bit by bit. Some six weeks 
previously the aul had been in the Bukan-Tau mountains, 



THE PLUNDERING TURCOMANS. 87 

near Yuz-Kuduk, pasturing their flocks. She was an 
old woman, and had an only son, she said, who took 
care of her, and was the staff of her old days. They 
had a tent and a camel, a horse and thirty sheep, and 
were happy. One day when her son, who was a fine 
young man, had wandered off among the mountains with 
his flock, a party of Turcomans, who had been prowling 
about, fell upon him, captured, and carried him off to Khiva, 
together with his horse and sheep. She had nothing left 
but her tent, and, worst of all, her son would be sold into 
slavery, and she would never see him again. Here she 
burst into tears again, weeping in a dreary, desolate sort 
of way, that was very affecting. I told Ak-Mamatoff to 
ask her what she expected of me. She replied, that I 
looked like a great man, and perhaps I would be kind 
enough to do something to help her to find her son, or 
get him set at liberty. I told Ak-Mamatoff to tell her 
that all the slaves would be liberated upon the arrival of 
the Kussians at Khiva, and that I and my people would 
not only take particular pains to find her son, and have 
him set at liberty, but I would see that he had his 
horse, or a better one, back again, together with the same 
number of sheep, or their value. So she might expect to 
see him back, gaily mounted on a good horse, in two 
months at the most. When this was told her, she 
manifested her joy in a very vehement manner, and went 
off perfectly happy. 

I then turned to my host, and asked him if the story 
were true. He said it was ; that such things happened 
every year, and that there was the most deadly hatred 
between the Kirghiz and Turcomans in consequence. I 
asked him if the Turcomans were very terrible, and he 
said, no. They never attacked except in superior 



88 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

numbers, as in the present case, when there was little or 
no risk, and that the Kirghiz could always beat them in 
an equal fight. 

My host, I soon learned, was a subject of Bokhara, 
and not of Kussia ; his name was Bii Tabuk, and he was 
the chief of a tribe, which accounted for the superior 
elegance of his dress and the - wealth displayed in the 
size and furniture of his kibitka. Naturally, my first 
question was for news of Greneral Kaufmann. Kaufmann, 
he said, had indeed been at Karak-Aty, but w^as now at 
Khala-Ata. He himself had just come from there, where 
he had seen the whole army, and therefore he did not 
speak from hearsay. 

After a variety of questions concerning the distance to 
Bokhara, I concluded that Khala-Ata must be about one 
hundred miles south of Karak-Aty ; one hundred miles 
from the river, and the same distance from Bokhara ; 
and that instead of continuing on to Karak-Aty, the 
nearest route would be right across the desert towards 
the river, a little west of south. In this supposition I 
was confirmed by Bii Tabuk, who said that would be 
the shortest way, although there was no road, not even a 
sheep path. 

This way then I determined, if possible, to take, but I 
foresaw that Mustruf would not be able to pilot me. I 
asked Bii Tabuk if he could not find me a guide. 
" Oh, yes, he would go himself ; but he had to buy sheej) 
for the army, and he did not like to return without 
them." " Yery good ; buy your sheep, have them driven 
after, and we will go on together." " But they had given 
him no money to buy the sheep, and he could not get any." 
" Can you not trust the Eussians so far as that ?" " Oh 
yes, but the Kirghiz won't let their sheep go without the 



ANOTHER CHANGE OF ROUTE 



89 



money." "How many sheep do you want to buy?" 
" About fifty." " Very good ; I will buy the sheep, if you 
will come with me as guide." 

To this proposal he readily consented, and, after some 




A KIRGHIZ. 



more talk, it was arranged that he should go along with me 
and find somebody to drive the sheep to Khala-Ata. 

Towards evening, when the sun was getting low, we 
mounted our horses and started forth m search of sheep. 



90 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

AVe rode about over the desert, coming upon auls here 
and there in the most unexpected manner, hid away in 
little hollows in the sand. How we ever found them was 
a marvel to me, as you could never see one until you were 
right on it. We found plenty of sheep. They were all of 
the fat-tailed species, and generally in very good condition. 
We visited half a dozen auls, in all of which we were 
more or less civilly received. In one place, however, an 
old woman objected most decidedly to my presence ; and 
although I did not descend from my horse, rated me 
soundly, if I could judge by her angry voice and energetic 
gesticulation. A bright pair of mischievous-looking eyes, 
which I saw peering through an opening in the kibitka 
before which the old hag was posted, disclosed to me at 
once the cause of her anger and her fears. 



A BROTHEE'S EEVENGE. Q] 



CHAPTEE XIIL 

KIKaHIZ HOME LIFE. 

Obsebving in the course of the evening that Ak-MamatofF 
seemed to be very much interested in something Bii 
Tahuk was telling him, I asked what it was about, when 
he told me the following story, which illustrates some 
of the workings of the Mohamedhan law relating to 
murder. 

Among the Kirghiz, as among many other Mohamedhan 
people, murder is not punished with death, but the 
murderer is condemned to pay a fine to the relatives 
of the murdered man, proportionate to his wealth. x^Lud 
-in case he is not able to pay the sum fixed upon, he is 
obliged to serve them as a slave until the debt is paid. 
An old man, or woman, or a child — especially a female 
child — is esteemed at less than a man or woman in the 
prime of life. 

This was the story : — Two brothers who had quarrelled 
entertained a deadly hatred of each other. One determined 
to be revenged. He, therefore, one night murdered a little 
orphan niece — a deformed child left to his care by a dying 
sister — and placed the dead body at the door of his bro- 
ther's tent, where it was found. The circumstantial evidence 
was considered sufficient to convict the innocent brother of 



92 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

the crime, and he was condemned to pay a heavy fine to 
the real murderer, as the only surviving relation. The 
injured man, however, cast around awhile, and at last 
found in another aul a great-aunt, about eighty years 
old, whom he murdered, and placed at the other's door. 
The first murderer was condemned in his turn to pay a 
fine to the second murderer ; and as the old woman and 
crippled child were considered of about equal value, their 
accounts were squared. 

The Kirghiz are generally allowed to arrange their 
quarrels in their own way, but among those who are 
Eussian subjects Greneral Kaufmann has established courts 
of appeal, composed of Eussian officers. These courts do 
not, however, take cognisance of cases, except at the re- 
quest of one of the parties to a suit, or for the punishment 
of certain very flagrant crimes, which would otherwise 
escape unpunished, and for the protection of women, as 
in the story I have related in a previous chapter. 

The next morning I gave Bii Tabuk enough money to 
buy fifty sheep, and he and Ak-Mamatofi" went off early, 
promising to have them all assembled, and ready to 
start by noon. While they were gone, I lay lazily in the 
tent and amused myself by watching the women going 
about their household work: I thus learned something 
of the daily routine of the interior of a Kirghiz family. 

First, the sheep, goats, and camels were milked before 
being sent off to the desert to pasture. Then the carpets 
and felts were taken out and beaten, and re-arranged in 
their places, together with the other household imple- 
ments. Two children, about as naked as robins, to whom 
belonging I could not quite make out, were fed with 
airan, and then sent out of doors to tumble about in 
the sand. A young camel that was tied just outside the 



A KIRGHIZ HOUSEWIFE. 93 

tent, and which kept up a dismal howling, was likewise 
fed on the same nourishing food. Next, a sick ewe and a 
sick colt were doctored, which operation was the cause of 
much clamouring and chattering ; and fuel was gathered 
for the day. Suddenly there was a great commotion in 
the aul. The women all rushed to a tent, chattering 
in an excited manner. Something very extraordinary 
seemed to have taken place, which I soon learned was the 
birth of a child. In an hour the happy event was over, 
and quiet was restored. The father came to me with 
a broad smile on his face, and received my congratulations 
and a present for the little stranger. 

This episode over, the old woman, mounting a horse 
which she bestrode like a man, took a tursook, or hogskin, 
and went off to the well, some two miles distant, in search 
of water, leaving me alone with the pretty young wife. 
The latter soon came in, and sat quietly down without even 
looking towards me ; and taking out a bunch of wool and a 
wooden spindle, on which a quantity of thread was already 
wound, proceeded to spin, with a pretty, modest, house- 
wifely air, that was charming. She had large black eyes, 
fringed by long heavy lashes, a round face, to which the 
Mongolian type, although very marked, only served to give 
something of wild and interesting beauty. She wore the 
high white turban of all the Kirghiz married women, and 
a kind of short vest of red silk, embroidered with yellow — 
worn provokingly open before— and upon the whole made 
so pretty a picture, as she sat there twirling her spindle, 
that I could not help envying with all my heart young 
Bii Tabuk, and wondering whether he appreciated her 
at her proper value. Was it not for such a woman as 
this that a lover once served fourteen long years, " which 
seemed unto him but a few days, for the love he had to 



94 CAMPAIGNINQ ON THE OXUS. 

her ?" "Was not this the life they led ? Was it not thus 
they toiled, and lived, and loved ? I lie on my soft felts 
in the deep shade of the kihitka and gaze dreamily 
through the trellis-work, and, passing back over some 
thousands of years, see the flocks and herds of Abraham, 
and Isaac, and Jacob, and behold around me the living 
forms of Sara, and Eebecca, and Eachel, and Hagar, and 
Euth. 

The spindle with which she was working was made of 
some kind of hard wood, worn very smooth, and I watched 
the way in which she made that little bit of wood do duty 
for our steam-engines, power-wheels, and spinning-jennies, 
with a lively interest. Stretching out a little wool at the 
point of the spindle, and slightly twisting it, she would 
give the latter a twirl, and holding her hand high above 
her head, allow it to whirl until it drew the wool out into 
a fine long thread; then it was wound on to the back 
part of the spindle, and the operation repeated. It was 
very simple, and not by any means as slow as might at 
first be supposed. The spindle was rapidly filled up, and, 
curiously enough, took exactly the same form as that of 
the thousands that may be seen in any great cotton 
factory, 

Bii Tabuk and Ak-Mamatoflf, instead of returning at 
noon, as had been promised, did not show themselves 
until evening, and then they arrived without a single sheep. 
Their story was that, although they might have brought 
plenty of sheep, they could find nobody to help to drive 
them to Khala-Ata. " But," said I, " I see plenty of young 
men and horses, will none of them go for pay ?" 

Ak-Mamatoff" answered that they could not be induced 
to do it, and Bii Tabuk returned me my money. I did 
not believe this story, as there was really no reason, 



THE DUPLICITY OF AK-MAMATOIT. 95 

judging by what I had seen, why men should not be 
found to help to drive the sheep, if I paid them well ; and 
immediately attributed the difficulty to Ak-Mamatoj0f. I 
felt almost sure that he was thwarting me in this, as in 
everything else, for some inscrutable reason of his own ; 
but as I could not communicate with Bii Tabuk without 
his aid, it was of course impossible to satisfy myself on 
the subject. 

There was nothing more to be done; and as it was 
now too late to start that day, I unwillingly decided 
to stay here another night. I asked Bii Tabuk if he 
could not find me a guide. He said he thought he 
could, and, going ofi', soon returned with a young Kirghiz, 
who agreed to take me across the desert the nearest way 
to Khala-Ata for twenty-five roubles, or about three 
pounds. Although the price was exorbitant, I closed 
with him at once, as I was too much pressed for time to 
haggle. He promised to be ready early next morning, 
and with this understanding we separated. It was now 
sunset ; the sheep and goats came trooping home, attended 
by their shepherds, enlivening the aul with their bleating 
and the movement and excitement they caused. The 
camels, too, came stalking in, some carrying water, 
others without any burden at all; with their beautiful, 
intelligent eyes they seemed to look around contentedly, 
as though recognising home. The ewes and goats were 
milked and watched until they lay down for the night ; 
and the lambs and kids were all tied to a rope. 

We passed a merry evening around the fire in the tent 
of Bii Tabuk, for although the day was excessively hot, 
the nights were cool enough to make a cheerful blaze a 
not unpleasant sight. This succession of hot days and 
cold nights is one of the most unhealthy characteristics of 



96 CAMPAIGNINa ON THE OXUS. 

the desert in this season of the year. I had made great 
progress in the good graces of the two women, by several 
little presents judiciously bestowed ; and when I at last 
withdrew to my side of the tent, I found a wide soft 
carpet spread for me, with plenty of coverlets and rugs — 
a very bed of roses after the sand I had been sleeping on 
for several nights. 

"We were up next morning before sunrise, getting 
ready for the march. I soon perceived that Bii Tabuk, 
with the whole aul, was moving farther on, for the women 
were taking down the kibitkas, loading them on the 
camels, packing up their goods, and making rapid pre- 
parations for the march. For half an hour everything 
was bustle and confusion. The camels commenced filing 
slowly off in a long line, and soon the village had dis- 
appeared. I was astonished to see the woman whose 
youngster was born the day before mount sturdily on her 
camel with the brat in her arms, as though the birth of a 
child were to her a matter of everyday occurrence. 

I took an affectionate farewell of my hostesses, but 
Bii Tabuk accompanied us a short distance on our way 
before finally saying adieu. We shook hands upon sepa- 
rating, not without a feeling of sadness on my part. I 
had been most kindly treated by him ; and I had greatly 
enjoyed my stay in his tent and the simple happy 
life of the desert. Turning my horse's head to the south, 
I was once more in chase of Greneral Kaufmann. We 
had not gone more than a mile when we stopped at a 
well, where there were already three or four Kirghiz, to 
water our horses. But when this task was accomplished, 
we still lingered about ; Mustruf, Ak-MamatofiT, and the 
new guide, carrying on apparently an interesting and 
pleasing conversation with our new acquaintances, with- 



I DREW MY REVOLVER. 97 

out any regard to the necessity of starting. I at last 
grew impatient, and ordered them to proceed, when 
Ak-Mamatoff coolly informed me that the guide refused to 
go unless I would, in addition to the twenty-five roubles, 
give him a horse, or the money to buy one. This demand 
I also attributed to the duplicity of Ak-Mamatofi", for the 
horse was evidently an afterthought. 

I was determined not to be swindled in this way, 
however, as there was no telling when the demands of my 
new guide would stop, if encouraged. I told Ak-Mamatofl" 
so in no very measured terms, giving him to understand 
that I held him responsible for the whole difficulty. I 
told him to ask the guide once more if he would go for the 
price agreed upon, and when he declined, I informed my 
own people that we would proceed without a guide. 
Instead of cutting across country, as had been originally 
intended, we would go by way of Karak-Aty. This way 
was much longer, but we should have the advantage of 
a broad caravan route which could not be easily lost. At 
this they raised a clamour of opposition. They did not 
know the way; there was no water; we should be lost 
in the desert ; it would be impossible to go without 
a guide. And this, although there had been no question 
of a guide as long as it had been our intention to go 
straight to Karak-Aty, now only distant a day's march. 
Arrived there, of course we should strike Kaufmann's 
trail, which could be easily followed. As the only 
objection to this route had been its length, this sudden 
opposition I considered a preconcerted thing. Deter- 
mined to be trifled with no longer, I drew my revolver, 
and sternly ordered Ak-Mamatoff to mount and proceed. 
I had resolved first to reduce him to submission, and 
then to disarm Mustruf, take the horse he was riding. 



98 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

and proceed with Ak-Mamatoff and Tangerberkhen, 
who, I thought, showed a disposition to follow me at 
all hazards. I had no particular ill-will against 
Mustruf, for I knew very well that Ak-Mamatoff had 
been tampering with him in some way. But the arms 
and the horse were mine, and I was entitled to take 
them whenever he declined to go any farther. Ak- 
Mamatoff, who had probably not looked for any such 
energetic measures on my part, instantly submitted, 
and in a few minutes we were once more ready to start. 
He then humbly proposed another plan for my approba- 
tion, namely, to go to an aul which, he said, was not 
far off, and try to get another guide. To this I consented, 
telling him, however, that we must be ready in any case 
— guide or no guide — to start in an hour ; and that I 
would not give a kopek more than the amount originally 
agreed upon. He assured me there would be no difficulty 
in procuring another guide, and accordingly we proceeded 
to the aul. 

This aul consisted of but three or four kibitkas, and 
the inhabitants seemed to be far less prosperous than 
those who followed Bii Tabuk. We soon found an old 
man, who readily agreed to conduct us at the stipulated 
price, a sufficient proof to my mind that the other guide 
had been trying — at the instigation of Ak-Mamatoff — to 
cheat me. He invited us all into his tent to eat with him, 
and instantly set about killing a sheep. In the course ol 
the meal I heard, to my astonishment, that my host was 
the brother of Bii Tabuk. He had a horrible scar across 
his face, which, I learned, he had received forty years 
ago in a fight with a Turcoman, who was trying to carry 
off his wife. " This one ?" I asked, pointing to a vexy ugly 
old woman, who seemed to be mistress of the kibitka. 



AN UNEXPLORED ROUTE. 99 

"Yes." 

She certainly did not look much like a prize that would 
be worth fighting for. But then that was forty years 
ago. 

Two girls came in from a neighbouring kibitka, and 
breakfasted apart with two or three other women. They 
were not very pretty, but they seemed to be exceedingly 
merry and good-humoured, and kept up an amount of 
chattering among themselves that would have done 
honour to a bevy of the most civilised school-girls. 
I watched them narrowly, without seeming to do so. 
I observed in them a peculiarity, which I have remarked 
is common to all Tartar women : that is, the wonderful 
expressiveness of their faces, when animated. In repose, 
when not interested, they have a hard, stolid, wooden 
look, like the carved face of some old heathen image ; 
but interested, pleased, or amused, they light up as with 
a ray of sunshine, their eyes sparkle, and the whole face 
seems to be aglow with some strange radiance from within. 

Breakfast over, we set out for Khala-ata. Instead of the 
broad caravan route, we were now following a very little 
sheep-path, which in places might have been hard to find, 
but for the sagacity of the guide. No white man had 
ever been over this way before me. 

The country presented the same general characteristics 
as heretofore, with the exception that the sand, instead of 
being disposed in little hillocks, covered with brushwood, 
lay in huge drifts as though heaped up and blown about 
by the wind ; and the earth in many places was bare and 
baked as hard almost as a rock. 

Here, as in many other parts of the desert, were a great 
number of lizards, varying in size from two inches to a 
foot in length, which, together with an occasional little 



100 CAMPAiaNING ON THE OXUS. 

land turtle, about six inches long, were the only speci- 
mens of animal life we saw. It is true there were said to 
be plenty of scorpions and tarantulas, but although I had 
come in the expectation of finding myself environed by 
the deadly little monsters, and armed myself with all 
kinds of antidotes to their stings, hardly hoping to 
escape them, I never even saw one, nor did I do so much 
as think of them while sleeping in the sand completely 
exposed to their attacks. Several Eussian officers were, 
however, stung by them. The lizards were very in- 
quisitive little animals. One day, while lying under the 
thin shade of a brush, I observed one, whose curiosity I 
had evidently excited. With his head up in the air, and 
his tail curled up over his back like a dog's, in the most 
comical way, he walked around me twice, and then, as 
though satisfied of my peaceful disposition, crawled on 
my foot, and perched himself there in triumph. They 
sometimes attain an immense size, and I saw one that 
had been captured at Khala-ata which measured nearly 
five feet in length. They appear to be perfectly harm- 
less, however, and the slightest blow kills them. 

We passed another night in the sand without shelter, 
and next morning changed our course from a little 
west-south to south-west, and plunged into a desert 
where there was not even a sheep-path to guide us — 
the dreariest and wildest place I have ever seen. It 
looked like a level plain, covered with a light spare growth 
of brushwood, through which the sand was always visible ; 
but it was broken up into an infinite number of hollows 
or cavities, from fifty to a hundred feet deep, and scarcely 
more than that in diameter, resembling the crater of a 
volcano. We were continually climbing out of these 
little cavities, and descending into them again, while the 



LEAVING A FEIEND TO DIE. 101 

horses often sank into tlie sand up to their knees, making 
the march exceedingly slow and toilsome. 

At noon we reached the well of Midyat-Knz-ran, the 
water of which, in spite of its depth of eighty feet, was 
very warm — eighty degrees, I should say — and slightly 
brackish. It was impossible to drink it, but it made 
very good tea, which answered the purpose just as 
well. It is a fact not generally known, that hot tea 
slakes the thirst better than cold water. I could not 
believe this at first, and could scarcely bring myself 
to drink it, with throat and lips already parched with 
heat and thirst. Having been obliged to try it once, 
I found that it was much more effective than water. In 
a few minutes the sensation of thirst had entirely passed, 
and it did not return nearly so soon as after drinking 
water. 

The road became very bad. The sand was heaped up 
across it in huge drifts, through which the horses struggled 
with difficulty. The little black horse, which Mustruf 
had particularly recommended to me for a saddle-horse, 
but which I had not ridden, had been showing signs of 
great fatigue during the past two days. We had re- 
moved his load, and distributed it among the other horses, 
leaving him only his light wooden pack-saddle to carry. 
It was all in vain. About nine o'clock at night he gave 
it up completely, and stumbling, fell his length in the 
sand with a groan. The poor beast was completely 
knocked up; I saw it was useless to urge him further, 
and taking off his saddle and bridle, we left him alone 
in the gloom of the desert. 

Sadly we continued our march through the thickening 
gloom. Blacker grew the night, and more oppressive the 
darkness and silence. The loss of our horse cast a shadow 



102 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

over us. Here, in the heart of the wide dreary desert, 
there was something fearful in the necessity which com- 
pelled us to work a poor willing beast to death, and leave 
him alone to die. 

How much longer was this to last ? We had now been 
fifteen days in the desert, and were apparently as far from 
our journey's end as ever. Our horses had eaten nothing 
but what they could pick up in the desert for several 
days. How long before the others would fall like 
this one, from exhaustion, and leave us to continue 
our march on foot ? It was evident that this phantom 
chase could not last much longer. Besides, although 
Bii Tabuk assured me I should find Kaufmann at 
Khala-ata, I did not expect it. Long ere this he must 
have reached the river. The savage Turcomans would 
be hanging on his flanks, harassing his march, and 
how should I with my tired horses escape their fleet- 
footed steeds, break through their lines, and reach the 
army ? The death of our horse seemed but the harbinger 
of our own doom — ;the beginning of the end. 

We persevere forward, stumbling through the low 
scrubby brushwood, sliding down into deep sandy hol- 
lows, almost slipping over our horses' heads ; then again 
up steep ascents, where our horses pant and struggle, and 
wrestle with the heavy inexorable sand ; over the hard 
earth where their hoofs clatter as over a stone pavement, 
until, late in the night, we throw ourselves in the sand to 
snatch a moment's repose. 

We have scarcely shut our eyes, when we are called 
by the guide td renew the march. It is still night, 
but the desert is visible, dim and ghostly under the 
cold pale light of the rising moon. Yegetation has 
entirely disappeared, there is scarcely a twig eveD 



DESERT SHADOWS. 103 

of the hardy sax-aul. Side by side with us move 
our own shadows, projected long and black over the 
moonlit sand, like fearful spectres pursuing us to our 
doom. 

Then streaks of light begin to shoot up the eastern sky. 
The moon grows pale, the shadows fade out, and at 
last the sun, red and angry, rises once more above the 
horizon. After the sharp cold of the night its rays strike 
us agreeably, suffusing a pleasant sensation of warmth 
over our benumbed limbs. Then it grows uncomfortably 
warm, then hot, and soon we are again suffering the 
pangs of heat and thirst ; our eyes are again blinded 
by the fiery glare, and our lungs scorched by the stifling 
noonday atmosphere. 

At noon we have reached the summit of an eastern spur 
of a low range of mountains, which we have seen on our 
right nearly all the way from Tandjarik, and which here 
crosses our path. Although in reality nothing more 
than hills, they, like the Bukan-Tau, present, with their 
miniature peaks, deep gorges, and rugged crags and cliffs, 
all the characteristics of great mountains. Of a reddish, 
rotten sandstone formation, they lay barren, black, and 
bare under the burning sun, with no leaf, or blade of 
grass, or sign of life — unvisited by man or beast — the 
very picture of lonely desolation. 

From the summit we stand gazing across a low level 
arid plain, beyond which, blue and misty on the horizon, 
rise the mountains of the Urta-Tau which had appeared 
on our left ever since Tuz-Kuduk. They sweep around 
to the west in a grand and noble curve, and are lost in the 
plain, far away in the golden light of the setting sun. 
Just beyond this range, the guide says, is Khala-ata, 
twenty-five miles distant. 



104 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

Down the southern slope we plunge. It is very rugged 
and steep, and our horses' feet dislodge large masses of 
sand and gravel, which go rolling down before us in minia- 
ture avalanches. Half an hour brings us to the bottom, 
and we are again dragging over the weary desolate plain — 
a plain not of sand, but of dust. 

Wherever there is sand, there is always at this time of 
the year a little wormwood, and here and there, perhaps, a 
spear of brown desert grass, as red as the sand itself. But 
nothing will grow in dust, and this plain was bare of vege- 
table life. 

Long after dark we continue our march, in hopes of 
finding a spot where the horses can get something to 
nibble at. The guide gets down from time to time to feel 
the ground, in hopes of finding a little grass, but in vain. 
One might as well look for grass in a heap of newly-burned 
ashes. We camp at last, and make our tea with a bottle of 
water we have brought with us ; carefully screening our 
fire from observation lest any parties of Turcomans that 
may be wandering about should see it; but our poor 
horses, after a march of fifty miles over a bad road, are 
obliged to go without food and water. 

It is very evident that this cannot last much longer, and 
the night is one of intense anxiety. 

At sunrise next morning we find a well of good water, 
and half an hour later we have reached the summit of the 
range behind which lies Khala-ata. The magnificent 
mountain chain, which looked so grand in the distance, 
has dwindled here into a low ridge. 

The guide advances to the top, which is very sharp, and 
having peered cautiously over, motions me to advance. I 
do not know whether there is any necessity for this 
caution or not, but we are as silent and stealthy as if we 



IT MUST BE KAUFMA^N. 105 

expected to see, not the Eussian, but tlie Turcoman camp 
in the distance. I advance my horse, and survey the 
scene with my field-glass. 

A bleak arid plain, like the one we have just crossed, 
stretching away for miles to the south, and lost in the 
direction of Bokhara ; in the middle, at the distance of 
eight miles, a dome-like mound, which I at first take 
for a monster kibitka, surrounded by small tents, that 
shine white m the morning sunlight; and finally, here 
and there, white masses of soldiers, and the glitter of 
bayonets. 

Surely it is Kaufmann this time. 



106 CAMPAiaNTNG ON THE OXUS. 



CHAPTEE XIY. 

KHALA-ATA. 

It was about six o'clock on the morning of the 16th of 
May when I rode into the camp and fortress of Khala-ata, 
dust-covered and weary after my seventeen days' ride 
through the desert. The camp was situated in the middle 
of a level plain, bounded on the north by the low range of 
mountains I had just crossed, and stretching away to the 
south and east in the direction of Bokhara ; without one 
tree, without even the friendly sax-aul, which I had 
seen everywhere, to relieve its dreary, soul-sickening 
aspect — a wide expanse of sand that lost itself in the 
distant horizon, and blended with the yellow, brazen 
sky. I was at first astonished that General Kaufmann 
should have chosen such a spot to pitch his camp, but my 
astonishment soon ceased when I beheld a spring of pure, 
sweet water, gushing forth in a stream of six inches 
thick, and affording a supply sufficient for an army of 
many thousands. 

The camp itself was composed of tents and kibitkas, of 
all sizes, shapes, and colours, scattered about irregularly 
over a space of perhaps 200 yards square. The large 
dome-like structure which, in the distance, I had taken 
for an enormous kibitka, proved to be an ancient mound 



KHALA-ATA, BUT NOT KAUFMANN. 107 

of earth, which, surmounted by a newly-constructed 
watch-tower of stone, now served as a corner bastion to 
the little fort which had just been constructed by 
Greneral Kaufmann. Mud tombs, such as I had seen 
all the way through the desert, were scattered about 
here and there, some solid and well preserved, others 
broken and crumbling away ; groups of soldiers gathered 
around the pools of water formed by the ever-gushing 
fountains, watering their horses ; long lines of camels, 
starting out into the desert to hunt a scanty repast of 
sax-aul and wild absinth ; a general appearance of dust, 
and heat, and discomfort — such was Khala-ata, the place 
where I first struck Kaufmann's trail, after a chase of 
seventeen days, and a ride of 500 miles. 

It was with no little trepidation that I rode up to the 
young officer on duty, followed by my little caravan, and 
asked him where was General Kaufmann. The answer 
dashed my hopes to the ground. General Kaufmann 
had marched from Khala-ata five days ago, and was now 
certainly on the Amu-Darya. Five days ! And by the 
time I could reach the river he would have crossed it, 
and taken Khiva. For a moment I was the prey to the 
most overwhelming disappointment, and mentally con- 
signed old Ak-Mamatoff and Bii Tabuk to the lowest 
regions of the Inferno, for the three days they had 
detained me in the desert waiting for a guide and sheep. 

I swallowed my chagrin as best I could, and informed 
the officer that I was an American on my way to see 
General Kaufmann, for whom, as well as for the Grand 
Duke Nicholas, I had letters of introduction. Would he 
kindly inform the officer in command of the detachment 
that I had arrived, and that I would like to call and pay 
my respects ? 



108 



CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 



As soon as my informant learned tliat I was an 
American, lie evinced the greatest cordiality, invited me 
into his tent, ordered tea to be made instantly, and told 
me Colonel Weimarn, the officer in command, was still 
asleep, but that he would soon be up, and would, he 
thought, be delighted to see me. He further informed 
me that Colonel Weimarn intended moving forward next 




KHALA-ATA. 



day with two companies of infantry, 100 Cossacks, and 
two field-pieces of nine, and that I could, of course, go 
with him. This suited me exactly, and I began to think 
that after all I might yet arrive m time. No news had 
been received from Kaufmann since his departure, except 
an order for the cavalry to advance, from which they 
inferred he had met the enemy; but further than this 



A BEUSH WITH THE KHIVANS. 109 

they knew nothing. They had already had one brush with 
the troops of the Khan, on the 9th of May, at the next 
well, the Adam-Kurulgan visited by Yambery. Greneral 
Kaufmann had, as usual, sent forward a small detachment 
to reconnoitre the ground, find wells, see if the water was 
good and in sufl6.cient quantity, before advancing with 
the main body of the army. This detachment, under 
Colonel Ivanoff, a young and intelligent officer, approached 
Adam-Kurulgan a little after dark; but the Colonel 
himself, with four Cossacks and four Kirghiz guides, 
advanced rather imprudently a mile or two ahead of the 
column, and before he had even suspected the presence of 
the enemy in the neighbourhood, he suddenly fell on a 
body of Turkomens, 200 or 300 strong, camped near the 
well. 

Both sides were about equally astonished, this being 
their first encounter. Before the Eussians could retreat, 
they were surrounded and attacked on all sides. Quick 
as thought the Colonel dismounted his little force (it 
would have been folly to attempt running away from the 
swift-footed Turkoman horses), and made a most deter- 
mined and resolute resistance. A desperate fight ensued, 
in which two of the little party were killed, and all the 
rest wounded, including the Colonel himself, who received 
a shot in the arm, and another in the leg. The fight 
lasted several minutes ; and the Eussians would have been 
certainly overpowered in a moment more, had not the 
troops in the rear, who rushed forward upon hearing the 
firing, arrived upon the scene in the nick of time. The 
Khivans, although still double the number of their 
opponents, immediately took to flight, and the gallant 
Colonel remained victor of a small but hard-fought 
battle. 



no CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

I was very curious to learn tlie exact geographical 
position of Khala-ata, as it was not on my map, and how 
far we were still from the Amu-Darya. My informant, 
however, could give me no information on this subject, 
further than that Khala-ata was about 100 miles west 
of Bokhara, and the distance to the Amu was only a 
matter of conjecture even to General Kaufmann himself — 
it might be seventy-five or it might be 150 miles. He 
thought, however, that Colonel Weimarn might be able to 
give me the position as determined by the astronomers of 
the expedition. Its position, as I learned upon arriving at 
Khiva, is latitude 40 deg. 52 min. 52 sec. north, and 
longitude 33 deg. 10 min. east, from the Imperial Ob- 
servatory of Pulkovo, near St. Petersburg, and 4 hours 
13 min. 59 sec, Grreenwich time. 

I began to be reminded now, that although the forenoon 
was far advanced. Colonel Weimarn had not intimated to 
me that my presence was known to him — a circumstance 
which was far from reassuring. 

The forenoon wears away. The soldiers crowd be- 
neath their tents, or other improvised shade, to get a little 
shelter from the scorching heat ; the camels come trooping 
home in long lines from their morning repast of sax-aul 
and wild absinth ; the braying of donkeys, the neighing 
of horses, and the bleating of sheep become hushed in the 
overpowering heat, and the poor animals stand drooping 
in the sun, sweltering under its scorching rays ; silence 
reigns throughout the camp ; only the sentinel on the 
tower can be seen keeping his lonely watch. The 
sun rises to the meridian, and then slowly commences 
sinking towards the west, glowing in the brazen sky like 
a ball of fire, heating the atmosphere until it grows visible, 
and dances in misty waves over the sands of Khala-ata, 



"WELL, WHAT DO YOU WANT?" HI 

like a pliantom ocean. But I receive no intimation from 
Colonel Weimarn that lie is ready to receive me. I 
grow impatient, and at last uneasy, at being treated in 
a way whicli I cannot help observing to myself is about 
as far removed from the polite as it well could be. I 
had brought the mail from Irkibai with no little trouble 
and difficulty ; and Colonel Weimarn had not so much as 
thanked me yet. Thus far he had entirely ignored my 
existence. It was the first time I had ever been treated 
rudely by a Russian, although I had travelled about 
through the dominions of the Tsar for the last two years, 
and I concluded that this exceptional case boded no good. 

At last I determined to put an end to my suspense, 
and see what kind of a man I had to deal with, by going 
direct to Colonel Weimarn himself, without invitation 
or announcement. After a while he was pointed out to 
me, walking leisurely about the camp, with nothing 
farther from his thoughts, apparently, than my request 
for an interview. I went straight to him, and having 
presented myself, the following colloquy occurred : — 

" I owe you an apology. Colonel, for not calling on 
you sooner to present my resj^cts ; but the fact is they 
told me you were asleep." 

" Well, what do you want ?" 

" As I before remarked, I wish to pay my respects." 

" I am much obliged ; but I do not suppose you have 
come all the way from New York to pay me your 
respects." 

" Why, no, Colonel ; my business here is with Greneral 
Kaufmann." 

" Oh, you have business with General Kaufmann, have 
you ?" incredulously. " How are you going to get to 
him ?" 



112 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. ;•• 

"I'm going to ride." 

" What is your business with G-eneral Kaufmann ?" 

" That I can only tell to Greneral Kaufmann himself." 

" Have you the written permission of G-eneral Kauf- 
mann ?" 

" No,"' said I, proceeding to show him my papers, " but 
I have the permission of " 

" It makes no difference whose permission you have 
got ; without the written permission of the Governor- 
Greneral you can't go. And as to your papers, I won't 
look at them." 

" How can I obtain that permission ?" I asked. 

" I do not know. You may send on your papers if you 
wish, but I am almost sure you will not be able to obtain 
it without a personal interview. He is too busy to answer 
letters." 

" I beg your pardon. Colonel," I said. " His Excellency 
Greneral Kaufmann seems to be a man very difficult of 
access indeed. I cannot soo him without his permission, 
it would appear, and I cannot get his permission without 
seeing him. How do people who have business with him 
usually proceed ?" • 

" Dass geht mir Nichts an" (" That's your business, not 
mine "), he replied, turning on his heel and walking off, 
leaving me to my reflections, which, as may be readily 
supposed, were not of the most agreeable kind. Had I 
come all the way from St. Petersburg to Khala-ata, 
struggling forward sixty days against all sorts of difl&- 
culties, only to be stopped on the very banks of the Amu- 
Darya, the far-famed Oxus, and turned back in the middle 
of the desert by a military despot, without having caught 
one glimpse of its darkly-rolling waters ? 

True I had the resource left of forwarding my letters to 



« YOU CAN'T ao ON." 113 

General Kaufmann, and awaiting liis answer (in case 
Colonel Weimarn did not take it into his head to turn me 
back in the meantime — a probability not to be over- 
looked) ; but I could not expect any reply under ten 
or twelve days, and in the meantime the Oxus would 
be crossed, Khiva taken, and I would be too late. 

As to breaking through the lines and escaping, the 
attempt would have been folly, at least until I should see 
what measures would be taken regarding me. If I was 
to be held as a prisoner, either guarded or on parole, this 
attempt would be simply impossible ; and even if Colonel 
Weimarn only proposed detaining me until he should 
receive orders from Kaufmann, escape would present 
difficulties of an almost insurmountable nature. It would 
be dangerous as well as difficult, on account of the fleet- 
footed Turcoman cavalry, that was probably hanging on 
General Kaufmann's rear. Even if I succeeded in getting 
away from the Russian camp, would I be able to elude the 
vigilance of the restless and savage Turcomans ? 

As I had no desire for a personal explanation with 
these latter regarding my business in their territory, I had 
laid all my hopes on reaching Kaufmann before his 
arrival in the enemy's country. This hope had now 
vanished for ever. I must reach Kaufmann, if I reached 
him at all, by passing through the enemy's country, or 
the country claimed by him, either alone or with a 
detachment of Russian troops. The unaccountable 
conduct of Colonel Weimarn made it very evident that 
I could not count upon a Russian escort, and the more I 
reflected the more it became apparent that I would have 
to try it, not only without an escort, but probably with 
twenty-five Cossacks giving me chase. This perspective 
was so disagreeable that I at first refused to consider it 



114 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

for a moment. A few minutes' reflection, however, 
sufficed to convince me that there was no other means of 
reaching Kaufmann. 

Visions of a picture I had seen in Vamhery's hook, 
with accompanying description, hegan to float in a 
shadowy way through my imagination; of a Turcoman 
emptying human heads out of a sack on the grand square 
before the Khan's police at Khiva, surrounded by the 
admiring and approving crowd ; of an untold number of 
human heads piled up in regular heaps like cannon balls 
in the same place. I saw in my mind's eye the horrid pit 
of Bokhara, where prisoners were thrown to be devoured 
alive by millions of sheep-ticks, fed and kept . alive by 
that disgusting monster, Nasrullah Khan ; every un- 
pleasant story, in short, illustrative of Central Asian life, 
recounted by Burnes, "Wood, Vambery, and others, recurred 
to my memory. 

My position was not an agreeable one. I had reduced 
my baggage to the minimum ; I was entirely without 
provisions for myself and people, and forage for my horses ; 
and I had been living for the last two days on sour 
milk, the airan of the Kirghiz. Besides, I was without a 
tent or shelter of any kind — a privation not much felt 
when on the march, but which would become unendur- 
able if I were to remain stationary under this scorching 
sun. 

I wandered about the camp awhile ; chewing the cud of 
sweet and bitter fancy, in which the bitter chiefly 
predominated ; trying to think of some plan by which I 
might soften Colonel Weimarn, and occasionally calcu- 
lating how many days it would take to starve to death ; 
for I was ravenously hungry. 

After a while I was accosted by two or three officers, 



MUST I FACE THE TURCOMANS? 115 

who, having heard of the arrival of an American, came to 
welcome me, and offer me their hospitality. I could see 
they were trying to make amends for the conduct of 
Colonel Weimarn, of which it was very evident they did 
not approve. Indeed, they expressed themselves to that 
effect at last, and in no very measured terms either. 

The Russian officers combine a very severe discipline 
with a good deal of freedom of speech, and I was not a 
little astonished to hear the term " canaille d'Allemand " 
applied to Colonel Weimarn without the slightest com- 
punction. 

We were soon on the best of terms, and after having made 
a " square meal," for the first time for several days, I was 
conducted to the kibitka of Colonel Ivanoff, the officer 
who had been wounded in the affair of Adam-Kurulgan, 
already spoken of. When he learned that I had no tent, 
he immediately made room for me in his kibitka, and 
offered me his hospitality while I should remain in Khala- 
ata. I accepted, of course, and as the Colonel was on the 
sick list, and had the best of everything that was to be 
had, I could not have fallen into better hands. I was 
treated, not only by him but by the rest of the little 
party here, with a kindness I shall not easily forget, the 
more especially as I stood sadly in need of hospitality. 
I was an American, and, among them, as among all the 
Eussians I had ever met, my passport was a sufficient 
letter of recommendation. 

The next day I passed idly in the kibitka of Colonel 
Ivanoff, attempting to get a little repose after my long 
ride, in which endeavour I succeeded but indifferently, 
owing to the heat and dust. In the evening Colonel 
Weimarn sent me word that he would march at two 
o'clock next morning, and that if I wished to send in my 



116 CAMPAIGNING- ON THE OXUS. 

letters to him I could do so. After some reflection, I 
decided to sand one of my letters with him, but, never- 
theless, to attempt escaping from the camp with the 
marching column. My plan was to leave the camp with 
the cavalry, trusting to the darkness to escape detection, 
make a wide circuit, reach the river, and pass the detach- 
ment. This, I thought, might be easily done, once out of the 
camp, as I could march at least twice as fast as the troops. 
I accordingly handed over one of my letters to Colonel 
Weimarn, to be delivered to General Kaufmann, and 
gave my people orders to be ready to march at two 
o'clock. 

There were still the Turcomans to be dealt with ; but 
I had to choose between that danger and the alternative 
of failing to accomplish the object of my mission, and I 
chose the former, trusting to the proverbial good luck of 
a war-correspondent for breaking through the enemy's 
lines with impunity. Had I carried out this plan at this 
time I would inevitably have fallen into the hands of the 
Turcomans, under Sadyk, a famous brigand in the service 
of the Khan, who, with 500 or 600 horsemen, were 
careering around Kaufmann's army, and who just about 
this time made a bold and dashing attack on Kaufmann's 
camels at Adam-Kurulgan. 

At midnight, however, when we were ready to start, 
orders came from Kaufmann not to march. It appeared 
that he had not reached the Amu, as had been supposed, 
but whether he was at Adam-Kurulgan, or at some point 
further on, I could not make out, as everybody was 
extremely reticent on the subject. I gathered enough, 
however, from scraps of conversation I overheard, to make 
it pretty evident that something very nearly approaching 
a disaster had occurred. 



WEARY WAITING. 117 

This changed the aspect of affairs. If Kaufmann had 
not yet reached the river, I had still time to deliberate on 
the best means of overtaking him. As Colonel "Weimarn 
would not march for three or four days, I concluded that 
I had better wait also, the more especially as it would 
have been very difficult to escape without the confusion 
attendant upon the night start of a detachment. I there- 
fore remained at Khala-ata, the guest of the kind-hearted 
Colonel Ivanoff. 

Life at Khala-ata I found was not a thing to be desired, 
even under the most favourable circumstances. Through- 
out the day the heat was of the most oppressive kind, 
gusts of wind filled and darkened the atmosphere, and 
even hid the sun itself with clouds of dust that was 
almost suffocating. Dust everywhere. Against this 
enemy a tent or kibitka was not the slightest protection. 
Once inside, it gently settled down over everything, 
filling eyes, mouth and nostrils, clinging to hair, eyelashes, 
and clothing, until you became the colour of the earth. 

Besides, there was not the slightest scrap of anything 
to read, except a few newspapers which I had seen before 
leaving St. Petersburg. Nothing to do but lie on one's 
back all day long, and watch the heated atmosphere 
trembling in misty undulations beneath the glowing sun, 
and the storms of dust that from time to time came 
sweeping over the desert ; or listen to the singing of the 
soldiers, which could be heard all day long, although 
the poor fellows had nearly nothing to eat, and no vodka 
to drink ; and heap imprecations, not loud, but deep, on 
the head of Colonel Weimarn. 

Poor fellow ! Even if I had not outwitted him in the 
end, I could forgive him now. He was thrown from his 
horse in the gardens of Khiva, and so badly hurt, that 



118 CAMPAIGNIN^G OX THE OXUS. 

he died in a few hours, without having caught one glimpse 
of the far-famed city. 

Khala-ata is situated on Bokharan territory, and was 
occupied with the permission of the Emir, who consented, 
at the same time, to the construction of the little fort. 
The fort is about fifty yards square, and consists of 
a simple earthwork, two corner bastions, and a ditch that 
may be filled with water. It is defended by two brass 
field-pieces, and, although constructed in two days, is 
sufficiently strong to resist any attack that may be made 
upon it by a Central Asian force. 

There is some reason to believe that Khala-ata is the site 
of an ancient city. When the Russians arrived, there 
were still remains of stone walls to be seen, which they 
quickly utilised in the construction of the fort, and I 
myself picked up a piece of carved stone that bore every 
appearance of having been the capital of a pillar. Not 
inappropriately this palace has been turned into a grave- 
yard by the Kirghiz. Mud-tombs and monuments replace 
lofty domes and minarets, and the dead city has become 
truly a city of the dead. 



PLANNING ESCAPE. HU 



CHAPTEE XV. 

A FLIGHT IN THE DARKN^ESS. 

During the next five days we heard nothing further from 
Kaufmann. I began to grow exceedingly uneasy at last, 
and to think that he had probably reached and crossed the 
Oxus, and would inarch to Khiva without waiting for the 
rest of the detachment to come up. Judging from the 
way in which I was treated by Colonel Weimarn, it was 
pretty sure that if he caught me in an attempt to escape, 
my position would be a very disagreeable one. Neverthe- 
less, I determined to try it. I had watched the camp 
routine very closely, and decided that at break of day, 
just when the pickets were called in, while the officers of 
night duty were retiring to rest, and the other officers 
were not yet stirring, would be the moment the most 
favourable for flitting. I observed that the Kirghiz and 
Bokhariots came and went during the day at pleasure, 
with their horses and camels, and I concluded that my 
people could also slip quietly out of the camp without 
being noticed. I therefore decided to send them on ahead 
the evening before, and ride out of the camp next morning 
accompanied by Ak-Mamatofi" only. As to the soldiers 
who would be up, they, having seen me about the camp 
for the last six days on friendly terms with the officers. 



120 CAMPAIGNma ON THE OXUS. 

could not be supposed to know anything of my real 
position, and would not think of stopping me. 

In this way I hoped to get at least twenty miles start 
before my absence would be observed, and then — let 
Colonel "Weimarn catch me if he could. In order to carry 
out this plan quietly and expeditiously, I had to take Ak- 
Mamatoff. into my confidence ; but he, as was usually the 
case when I desired to start anywhere, always found at 
least ten good and sufficient reasons that made starting 
perfectly impossible. He at last, to my utter chagrin 
and disappointment, flatly refused to move another step, 
except with the troops. Threats — my unfailing resource 
in the desert upon emergencies of the kind — were out of 
the question here, for the simple reason that any attempt 
to exert my authority would attract the attention of 
everybody in camp. Besides, I had to acknowledge to 
myself that the objections of my people were, to a certain 
extent, well founded. As they very well observed, I had 
not told them, when they engaged to go with me, that any 
such service would be required of them ; and, even if we 
succeeded in escaping the Eussian lines, we would probably 
fall into the hands of the Turcomans. They had families, 
they said ; and had they known what was expected of 
them, they would never have come with me. 

Besides the objections of my people, I found, upon 
looking at my horses, that the poor beasts were in a 
miserable plight. There was a large store of barley in 
the fort, but Colonel Weimarn refused to give me a grain, 
at any price ; and had it not been for the kindness of 
Colonel Ivanoff and Colonel Dreschern, who procured me 
a little, the poor animals would have starved to death. 
As it was, two of them looked as though they would 
never reach the Oxus. If they failed me, there would 



WEIMAEN, GOOD-BYE. 121 

only remain three — it will be remembered that I was 
obliged to leave one in the desert — to carry myself, my 
three men, and my baggage. 

One week's standing in the hot sun, with nearly nothing 
to eat, had reduced them to their present pitiable plight ; 
and when the brave little beasts, that had carried me so 
far and so patiently, came whinnying around me, asking 
in their equine language for something to eat, and biting 
ravenously at dry saxaul brushwood, in which there was 
not the slightest nourishment, I could, in a perfectly 
cheerful frame of mind, have seen Colonel Weimarn in a 
considerably hotter place than Khala-ata. 

Upon the whole, my position was a good deal worse than 
when I arrived at Khala-ata. Then my horses, although 
tired, were still in a very fair condition, and would have 
reached the Amu without difficulty ; now that was very 
doubtful indeed. To stop at Khala-ata, however, after 
having come so far, and remain there for an indefinite 
length of time, was too absurd an ending to my wanderings 
to be entertained, as long as the slightest hope of escape 
remained. I therefore determined to make the attempt, 
regardless of consequences. I went to my people and told 
them that if they refused to go with me, I would discharge 
them immediately, and they might get back to their 
homes as best they could ; but if they would follow me, 
I would give them each a hundred rubles. This propo- 
sition staggered them, and after a good deal of murmuring 
they at last consented to start the same evening. In the 
meantime, however, Colonel Weimarn, as well as myself, 
had been growing uneasy at receiving no news from 
Kaufi"mann, and for exactly the same reason. He, too, 
feared Khiva would be taken without him — and he at 
last concluded to march, in hopes of meeting a courier 



122 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

with orders to move forward. Curiously enough, he took 
this resolution the very day I had planned to escape. This 
made escape comparatively easy, the more especially as 
Colonel Weimarn would know nothing of my flight for at 
least twenty-four hours, when pursuit would be out of the 
question. 

At one o'clock, on the morning of the 24th of May, we 
were all in our saddles, and the column under march, 
already began to file out on the broad, sandy road, leading 
nearly due west, in the direction of Adam-Kurulgan and 
the Amu-Darya. 

I had taken leave of nobody, and there was no one in 
camp who for a moment even dreamed of my undertaking 
such a project in the darkness. I dropped silently in 
the rear of the Cossacks, who led the column, followed 
by my people, and when we had gained the summit 
of the low sand-hill, a mile from the camp, over which 
the road led, I as silently dropped out again, turned 
my horses' heads to the north, and plunged into the 
darkness. 

My intention was to get out of sight of the column 
before daylight, and, by making a slighi? detour, return to 
the road near Adam-Kurulgan, far enough in advance to 
water and rest my horses before the column should 
come up. 

Gruided by the north star, we proceeded slowly and 
cautiously forward through the darkness. For an hour we 
pressed on, crossing the sandy dunes, stumbling over broken 
and uneven ground, trampling through the sparse sax- 
aul and wild wormwood, or stopping to reconnoitre, as we 
thought we beheld some object moving in the darkness 
before us, and our excited imaginations made us catch 
glimpses of horsemen flitting through the obscurity around 



FREE ONCE MORE. 123 

US. I began to feel that it was a wild and foolhardy 
adventure, and one which might end tragically. But the 
sense of freedom and exultation at finding myself once 
more in the saddle, after my monotonous and weary 
sojourn at Khala-ata, out in the open desert, with the 
stars above, and the fresh air of morning blowing in 
my face, was so great, that the danger appeared only a 
matter of secondary consideration. 

With all its fatigues and dangers, there is, after all, 
something overpoweringly witching and attractive in the 
desert, that only those who have experienced it can 
understand. The long, hot marches over the yielding 
sand; the halts at the wells to draw the clear, cold 
water ; the dreamy, weary noon repose, the fresh cool 
air of evening, when you throw yourself on the sand, and 
watch the stars come out, and the round, red moon slowly 
rise over the shadowy desert ; the sublime, mysterious 
silence, and the sense of freedom, weave themselves into 
a kind of existence, full of an untold charm, that endures 
long after you have quitted the enchanted solitudes. 

We continued to move forward as fast as the obscurity 
would permit, until the grey dawn began to appear in the 
east, when we increased our pace into a gentle gallop. 
As a red flare of light gradually mounted up the eastern 
sky, I looked around to see if I was well out of the 
clutches, of Colonel Weimarn. Far away to the south- 
east I could make out a dark object moving forward, 
which I took to be the rear-guard, and which was " soon 
lost on the horizon. Concluding we were far enough 
away, I turned my horses' heads to the west, and took up 
my line of march towards the Amu-Darya. 

The country was rolling and uneven, with very little 

vegetation ; the saxaul not more than a foot high, and 

10 



124 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

the wormwood very scarce. There was, however, a good 
deal of the fine, wiry, brownish grass that is to be found 
almost everywhere in the desert, and which forms the 
principal support of the flocks and herds of the Kirghiz. 

At nine o'clock we stopped to take tea, having brought 
a little water for that purpose with us. Here it became 
very evident that one of my horses would not go much 
further, even with the very light load I had given him to 
carry. We had no sooner stopped, than the poor beast 
threw himself on the earth, already too tired to seek, as 
did the others, a scanty repast of the brown desert grass. 
I had still a little barley left, which I gave him, and he 
afterwards nibbled the grass within his reach, without 
attempting to rise. An hour's rest enabled him to 
continue the march better than I expected. I had fore- 
seen that some of my horses would not reach the river, and 
had left nearly the last remnant of my baggage at Khala- 
ata, with a note to Colonel Dreschern, the commanding 
officer, left behind by Colonel Weimarn, apologizing for 
my unceremonious leave-taking, and requesting him to 
take care of it. Everything I retained could be carried 
by the four remaining horses. When it is remembered 
that there were four of us, and that each of my three 
followers had something in the way of luggage, without 
speaking of a tin kettle, forty pounds of dried black bread 
Ak-Mamatoflf had bought from the soldiers, and which 
was destined to serve as sole nourishment for ourselves as 
well as horses, 100 rounds of cartridges for my guns and 
revolvers, and a little barley, it will be readily under- 
stood that my personal efiects were of the slightest 
possible nature. 

About two o'clock we ascended a dune covered with a 
growth of saxaul. five or six feet high, from which we 



WEIMAEN AGAIN! 125 

beheld a low, level plain, two or three miles wide, covered 
with a whitish saline deposit. Beyond, more sand-hills 
among which was the famous Adam-Kurulgan, visited by 
V ambery as a dervish. 

What was my chagrin and disappointment, upon 
surveying the place with my field-glass, to perceive 
among the dunes the white uniforms of Eussian troops ' 
At this moment we perceived approaching two or three 
horsemen, who proved to be djigits, or Kirghiz guides, on 
their way to Khala-ata. They now informed us that the 
troops we saw were Cossacks, who had arrived that morn- 
ing from Khala-ata. " The very same Cossacks," I men- 
tally added to myself, " whom I had joined, and quitted so 
stealthily m the darkness !" 



126 . CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 



CHAPTEE XVI. 

CHECKMATED. 

This was a circumstance which, in Dick Swiveller's 
choice phraseology, might be called a " stunner," and 
for the moment, indeed, I felt completely crushed. To 
add to my discomfiture, my people, who were only too 
glad, looked at me with a sly smile of triumph, which 
was exceedingly exasperating. They thought that now, 
being completely checkmated, I would be obliged to 
return to Khala-ata, or go and surrender myself to 
Colonel Weimarn. In either case they would be spared 
the trouble and danger of the present enterprise. The 
impossibility of pushing on to the Oxus without water 
was evident enough. With horses such as I had when 
I left Perovsky I might have done it, though with 
difficulty ; with my present exhausted beasts it was not to 
be thought of for a moment. I did not even know the 
distance that still remained to be traversed, for Colonel 
Weimarn had not, of course, given me the slightest infor- 
mation regarding the position of Khala-ata, or of the 
supposed distance to the Amu. That it was not less than 
seventy-five miles, however, I thought very probable ; and 
as I cast my eyes over the gleaming sands, in the direction 
of the historic river, how I longed for one good Turcoman 



A GLFAM OF HOPE. 127 

horse — one of those noble beasts that make the distance 
from Astrabad to Khiva (500 miles) in four days, with only 
a little straw to eat. With one such horse I would have 
undertaken to reach Kaufmann alone, leaving my people 
behind to follow with the detachment. But there was no 
such horse near, unless, indeed, in the hands of his savage 
owner, who might now be prowling within a mile of me, 
and I must seek other means of reaching the end of my 
journey. I turned over every possible expedient in my 
mind for obtaining water, without seeing the slightest 
chance of success. At last, however, I remembered over- 
hearing a scrap of conversation, while at Khala-ata, in 
which mention was made of another well, somewhere be- 
tween Adam-Kurulgan and the Amu, although no such 
well was known to Vambery. 

I had not the slightest idea of the position of this well, 
but I turned to Ak-Mamatoff, and told him to ask the 
djigits if there was not another well farther on. To my 
great joy, I soon learned that there was another, some 
twenty miles further on, called "Alty Kuduk," or the 
" Six Wells ;" that it was not on the road to the Amu, 
but some four miles to the north, and that Kaufmann had 
left some troops there. This was news, indeed, and I 
determined to push forward to Alty Kuduk without 
stopping at Adam-Kurulgan. 

As to the Kussians, I was pretty sure they were not 
under the command of Colonel Weimarn, and that the 
officer in command knew nothing of my detention at 
Khala-ata. In any case, it would be an unheard-of piece 
of ill-luck to fall into the hands of another such man as 
Colonel Weimarn, and I determined to take the risk. I 
therefore gave orders to mount, and push straight on. 
without stopping at Adam-Kurulgan. 



128 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

As was to be expected, another contest with my people 
ensued. The horses, tliey said, had already made at 
least forty miles by the roundabout road we had taken, 
and they would never be able to go twenty miles more 
under this hot sun without rest and water. It was im- 
possible ; we would all be left in the sands with no horses, 
and obliged to find our way forward on foot. But here 
I had no fear of attracting the attention of Colonel 
Weimarn, and I sternly ordered them to mount and pro- 
ceed, without even stopping to discuss the question with 
them. They had got 300 rubles out of me among them 
the day before, because I was in their power ; now it was 
my turn, and in five minutes we were moving forward. 

I would here remark that although I was always in a 
state of chronic opposition to my followers, continually 
goading them forward against their wishes, they, never- 
theless entertained for me anything but unfriendly 
feelings. I paid them well, and never refused them money 
for anything to eat that could be bought, shared every- 
thing I had in the way of delicacies with them, learned 
to drink boiled tea as they made it for themselves, in 
order to save them the trouble of heating water twice, 
and was every way good-natured, except on the one 
question of getting forward. On that I was inexorable ; 
and although they possibly regarded me as one possessed 
of an itinerant demon, they only said, "Allah is great," 
and liked me none the less. 

Leaving Adam-Kurulgan to the left, our way soon 
became difiicult and toilsome. The sand grew deeper and 
deeper, and at last commenced taking the form of huge 
drifts, twenty and thirty feet high ; which, piled up in 
all sorts of fantastic shapes, exactly like snow-drifts, 
were continually changing their form, and moving about 



"FATAL TO MEN." 129 

under the action of tlie wind. The wind kept sifting 
the sand over us in little clouds, and the drifts were 
so steep and so high, that working our way over 
them was most difficult and toilsome. The horses sank 
nearly to their bellies : and we were obliged to dismount. 
Even then they only struggled through by a succession 
of plunges, while we ourselves sank to the knees. This 
continued for nearly two miles. One of those storms 
that so often sweep over the desert would have sent 
these huge drifts rolling over us, and in an instant 
buried us twenty feet deep, leaving not a trace of 
us behind. 

The name of the place, Adam-Kurulgan, " fatal to 
men," was well chosen. 

I remarked that even here, impossible as it may seem, 
there was more or less vegetation. Now and again we saw 
a shrub of saxaul, in a more or less flourishing state. 
Sometimes it was almost buried, showing only a few 
leaves on the surface of the sand. Again, its short, 
scrubby stem, and immense network of long, fibrous roots, 
extending many yards, were completely bared to the sun, 
without much affecting its condition apparently, so hardy 
is the plant. Fortunately, this did not last long, or 
the horses would have been completely exhausted. As it 
was, we had only gone two or three miles farther, when 
the feeblest of the horses suddenly stumbled, staggered 
a moment, and then fell heavily on the sand with a 
groan. We threw off his saddle and bridle, distributed 
part of his load among the other horses, threw the rest 
away, and resumed the march, leaving him to die. 
Until l«ng after dark we pushed forward, hoping to 
reach Alty-Kuduk. 



130 OAMPAIGi?ING ON THE OXUS. 

At length signs of fatigue in our horses warned me to 
halt and camp, if I did not wish to make the next day's 
march on foot. The poor beasts had to go without water 
that night, for it would have been impossible to carry 
enough with us, even had we foreseen the impossibility 
of getting water at Adam-Kurulgan. We offered them a 
feed of our hard, black, dried bread, which they were too 
thirsty to touch, hobbled them, and let them loose on the 
desert to pick up what they could find. 

I could never cease admiring my own little saddle- 
horse. He had been now twenty-five days in the desert ; 
he had carried me the whole distance from Fort Perovsky, 
sometimes as much as sixty miles a-day. More than half 
of the time he had nothing to eat, except what he could 
pick up in the desert, and yet he was by no means in bad 
condition. He would go the whole day, from sunrise to 
sunset, in the easy little trot of the Kirghiz horses, and 
in the evening would break into a gallop as lightly as 
though he were fresh from the pastures of the Syr-Darya. 
He was a pure-blooded Kirghiz ; a light sorrel, nearly 
the colour of the sand ; head, ears, eyes, and limbs exactly 
like an Arab, but the neck and body shorter and heavier. 
It was never necessary to tether him, as he never wan- 
dered away. He swam the Amu, and proved to be 
as much at home in the gardens of Khiva as in the desert, 
never hesitating, when necessary, to take a ditch or canal. 
In the end he was stolen from me by some of the liberated 
Persian slaves. Now the poor beast was crazy for water, 
as were the others, and refused to touch the black bread I 
offered him. 

As to ourselves, we fared no better than our horses. 
"We also were too thirsty to eat the black bread, even if our 



A NIGHT OP DESPAIE, 131 

teeth had been capable of making an impression on it, 
without its first having been soaked in water. After the 
long day's ride my thirst was intolerable. The un- 
certainty of our situation, the ever present fear of Turco- 
mans, who might be hovering around, the difficulty of 
finding the well we were in search of, the probability of 
missing it altogether, the condition of my horses — two 
more began to show signs of extreme fatigue, that told me 
plainly enough they would not go more than another day 
— the possibility of being obliged to drag on to the Oxus 
on foot, only to fall perhaps at last into the hands of the 
Turcomans; the darkness that settled down over us like a 
pall — making the stillness of the desert more fear- 
inspiring, and even the occasional chirp of an insect 
startling — all combined to make this the gloomiest night 
I ever passed. 

After a two hours' ride next morning, our eyes caught, 
far away on the horizon, the glitter of bayonets in the 
early sunshine. Soon .we made out the forms of two 
pickets, posted on a sand-hill, watching our approach ; and 
half an hour later we gained the little eminence from 
which they were keeping their dreary look-out, and 
beheld the camp of Alty-Kuduk. It was the sandiest, 
dreariest spot I have ever seen, not excepting Adam- 
Kurulgan itself. 

A broad shallow basin, in which were three or four 
wells, and a quantity of forage and baggage; then a low 
ridge, with two brass six-pounders peering over it, and 
beyond another little hollow in which were pitched the 
tents of soldiers. Farther on, as far as the eye could 
reach, more sand heaped and piled up, rolling ofi" in every 
direction in low mounds and ridges, with here and there 



132 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

in tlie distance, on a higher spot, a picket keeping his 
dreary watch in the hot sunshine. 

Such was Alty-Kuduk — the place where Kaufmann 
passed the most critical period of the whole campaign — a 
week, during which he was well-nigh overtaken by the 
same terrible disaster that befel Markosoff. 



"EJS^TREZ DONC." 133 



CHAPTEE XYII. 

A FEIENDLT GEEETING. 

It was still early in the morning when I rode into the 
camp ; none of the officers were stirring. I sat down on 
a heap of baggage near, wondering what sort of reception 
was in store for me, and not without inward mis- 
givings. I had not long to wait. I had only been 
seated a few minutes when a young officer, half-dressed, 
stuck his head out of a tent near by, and bawled out, 
" Que dialle faiLs-vous Id? Entrez done /" 

This was a promising invitation, and I entered accord- 
ingly, with a weight taken off my mind. The young 
officer in question was one I had met at Khala-ata, but 
whose face I had forgotten. He had left the day after 
my arrival, had joined Kaufmann here, and then had 
the misfortune to be left behind. He immediately ordered 
tea, and offered me a little dried beef and biscuit, of 
which I ate ravenously, for I had neither eaten nor 
drunk for twenty-four hours. It was all he had to offer 
me, and this was his last bit of beef ; but he gave it with 
such hearty good will, that I had no hesitation in making 
away wiih the whole of it. He informed me that Kauf- 
mann had been gone six days, and must be now on the 



134 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

Amu, if he liad not already crossed it. But they had 
heard nothing from him since his departure. They were 
in hopes of receiving orders to march every day, and that 
the camels which were to be sent back for their transport 
would soon commence arriving; that was all they 
knew. As to the road, it was very dangerous — probably 
infested by marauding parties of Turcomans, who would 
be harassing the rear-guard, and he would not advise me 
to attempt it alone. They would probably receive orders 
in a day or two to move forward, and I could go with 
them. I had already decided, however, that I would risk 
no more delays. It was just possible that I would be 
sent for by Weimarn, and there was more danger in 
waiting than in pushing forward. 

I was glad, however, to stay a short time, in order to 
rest my horses after their long march of the day before. 
As I was very tired and sleepy, they prepared a bed for 
me, and I lay down for an hour's nap. 

When I awoke, I lay for a few moments with my eyes 
half closed, trying to make out where I was. The tent 
in which I found myself was large and roomy, lined 
inside with a stuff of brilliant colours, worked or cut in 
the most fantastic manner. I afterwards learned that 
this was one of several tents the Emir of Bokhara 
had presented to General Kaufmann, which accounted 
for its strangeness. While I was lying half awake, 
trying to make out my position, associating it^ in 
a dreamy way with some weird tale from the "Arabian 
Nights," I was aroused from my state of semi-somnolence 
by hearing the question, in very good English, 

" Well, how do you feel after your nap ?" 

I looked around, and found myself surrounded By eight 
or ten officers. The one who had addressed me was Baron 



"DA 1ST MEIN VATEHLAND." 135 

Korff, and there were besides, Valuyeff, Feodoroff (several 
of whose sketches appear in this book), and many others. 
They were only waiting for me to awake to oflfer me a 
welcome, and the hospitality of Alty-Kuduk. We were 
friends in a moment. They invited me to breakfast, but 
they had to club together in order to find provisions 
wherewith to make the meal. One furnished a block of 
dried vegetables, another a pot of Liebig's extract of 
meat, another a piece of mutton, another some biscuit, 
another coffee, another preserved milk, and still another a 
bottle of vodka. This was about all the variety that could 
be found in the camp ; but their welcome was so cordial, 
and their hospitality so generous, they appeared to be so 
glad to see me, and so anxious to do me a kindness, that 
I was not a little moved. I think now, as I thought then, 
that there were never better fellows in the world. They 
were terribly low-spirited on account of their being left 
behind, with every probability of their not reaching 
Khiva in time to take part in its capture. But they 
threw off dull care for the moment, and we were as merry 
over our solitary bottle of vodka as if it had been a dozen 
of Cliquot. Their only pastime seemed to be singing, to 
a most doleful air, a song they had adapted from the 
G-erman, commencing, " In dem Alty-Kuduk, da ist mein 
Vaterland," into which they had introduced an astonishing 
number of variations. 

Best of all, they gave me as much barley as I wanted 
for my horses ; and, to tell the truth, matters had arrived 
at such a point, that success or failure, and perhaps my 
own life, depended upon a bushel of barley. 

The water at Alty-Kuduk was tolerably good, and in 
sufficient quantities ; but I had, nevertheless, to obtain a 
permit, in order to get any for my horses, the regulations 



136 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

adopted during the first days when water was scarce being 
still in force. 

I was very much surprised and amused during the day 
to hear the crowing of a cock, which sounded strangely 
out of place here. He had made the whole distance from 
Tashkent, comfortably perched on the back of a camel. 
Originally destined for the table, he had shown such a 
pugnacious disposition, and offered so courageously to 
fight General Kaufmann's cook, who was proceeding to 
wring his neck, that the soldiers unanimously decided he 
should not die. This valiant disposition had been cultivated 
in him to such an extent, that he would give the road to 
neither man nor beast without a fight ; and I actually 
saw him, more than once, attack and put to flight a dog in 
the most daring and resolute manner. 



PUESUED BY COSSACKS. 137 



CHAPTER XYIII. 

RUNNING THE GAUNTLET. 

The next day, towards noon, I was in the saddle again, 
on the road to the Oxus. My kind entertainers had used 
every endeavour to dissuade me from the enterprise, 
assuring me I could not escape the Turcomans who 
would he hovering round the army. But although I was 
not without apprehensions, and Mustruf knew as little of 
the way as myself, I felt too uneasy to remain longer. 
I had a presentiment there was as much danger behind as 
before. Colonel Weimarn would soon hear of my flight, 
and, everything considered, I preferred not meeting him 
again. 

My presentiment of danger proved prophetic. Soon 
after arriving at Khiva, I learned that I had left Alty- 
Kuduk only a few hours, when an ojficer, at the head of 
twenty-five Cossacks, arrived, breathless, with an order to 
arrest, disarm, and take me back to Tashkent. He had 
come all the way from there, a distance of about 600 
miles, hoping to intercept me in the desert. He had 
heard of me from passing caravans and wandering 
Kirghiz, who had seen me, had got on my trail, lost it, 
gone back, found it, and lost it, and found it again ; he had 
killed several horses, and at last arrived at Alty-Kuduk 



138 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

a few hours too late. They laughed at him there, and told 
him to follow me if he dared. They assured him I was 
then either with Kaufmann or — the jackals ; in either 
case, out of his jurisdiction. 

The story is a curious one. There is an order, which 
it is not now my province to discuss, prohibiting Euro- 
peans, not Kussian subjects, from entering Turkistan. 
The reason given by the Eussians for this measure is, 
that every foreigner who has ever gone to Central Asia, 
and got himself into trouble, has invariably accused the 
Eussians of having a hand in it. Two Italians who 
reached Bokhara were thrown into prison by the Emir, 
and, although only released upon the threats of the 
Eussians to declare war, they went home and accused 
the Eussians of having caused their imprisonment. To 
save time, the Tsar, who has a very summary way of doing 
things, ordered that no more Europeans be allowed to go 
into Turkistan for the present. 

I should have mentioned before that Mr. Schuyler and 
I had been confronted with this order at Kazala, and had 
evaded it by pointing out that we were not Europeans, 
and we then got permission to go to Tashkent, but not to 
Khiva. 

But no sooner had a certain official in Tashkent, or 
Samarcand, I could never learn which, heard of my depar- 
ture from Perovsky across the desert, than he determined 
to prove his zeal by catching me and bringing me back, 
probably as a spy. Meantime the story got out that an 
American was in the Kyzil-Kum desert, making his way 
to Khiva, and that twenty-five Cossacks were in hot 
pursuit of him. This created a good deal of excitement 
throughout the whole Eussian population of Central Asia, 
everybody but the official in question taking the side of the 



ON TO THE OXUS. 139 

American. He must be a " molodyetz " (a brave fellow), 
they were kind enough to say, and it was a shame to hunt 
him down in this way, as if he had not enough danger 
with the Turcomans. And the people of Tashkent were 
prepared to give me an ovation, if I had been caught and 
brought back. I was not caught, however, and the over- 
zealous official got laughed at for his pains. Another 
time, perhaps, he will remember the instructions of 
Talleyrand to his subordinates, " Surtoui, ^pas de zele^ 
What I regretted chiefly in the matter was, that he had 
authority to deprive Colonel Kodionoff, who had showed 
me some kindness at Perovsky, of his position, and actually 
did so. I hope, however, that Kaufmann has by this time 
given him another and better situation.* 

Having thus given a rapid account of the danger that 
was hovering over my track, I will resume the thread of 
my narrative. I left Alty-Kuduk on the 27th of May, 
hoping to reach the river, and consequently Kaufmann's 
army, the same day. The exact distance to the river 
was unknown, but I thought it could not be more than 
fifty, nor less than thirty miles. As Kaufmann had only 
taken two of his six boats, I felt pretty sure he could not 
yet have crossed, and that I would find him camped on 
the banks. So I set forth on what I supposed was my last 
march with a light heart. Not that I believed all my 
difficulties to be at an end. On the contrary, the most 
dangerous part of my whole trip was before me. There 
would probably be parties of Turcomans hanging on the 

* I have just learned that when General Kaufmann heard that Colonel 
Rodionoff had been deprived of his situation, he wrote, telling him that 
he did perfectly right in allowing me to pass, and that he would have 
been greatly displeased if he had not done so. He also gave the 
Colonel the position of district governor of Turkistan, whicli wns not 
I inly reinstating, but promoting him. 

11 



140 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

rear of the army, and tliese I would have to avoid or fight. 
But I trusted to my star to come off successfully in either 
alternative. 

Going due south four miles, we soon fell into the hroad 
travelled road leading from Adam-Kurulgan to the river, 
the same road traversed by Vamhery as a dervish ; and then 
turned our horses' heads to the west. The road was broad, 
well-worn, and easily followed ; but even if it had been 
otherwise, there would have been no difficulty in finding 
the trail of the army, the dead camels that were scattered 
along every few yards serving as guide-posts. Even at 
night our noses would have guided us without the aid 
of the other senses. The sand was deep, and our horses 
sank to their knees at every step. I could see from time 
to time the tracks of the cannon, which must have almost 
buried themselves in this yielding sand, and was as- 
tonished to learn upon arriving at the river that eight 
horses to each piece brought them through with ease. 

The characteristics of the desert here were the same as 
in the other parts of the Kyzil-Kum — rolling dunes 
covered sparsely with saxaul, and the brown desert 
grass. 

After two or three hours' march, we began to come on 
the bodies of dead horses, which we easily made out to be 
those of -the Turcomans, by their great beauty and sym- 
metry ; and I inferred that Kaufmann's sharpshooters had 
been at work with the breech-loading rifle. From here 
to the river we found the bodies of horses every few yards, 
showing that there had been a running fight the whole 
distance. I afterwards learned that, if I had attempted 
this passage two days sooner, when several hundred 
Turcomans were careering around the army, I should 
certainly have been caught. As will be seen, between the 



DEVOUTLY CEOSSED HIMSELF. 141 

Cossacks and the Kliivans I had a narrow escape. Many 
of the dead horses were without tails. A tail serves a 
Turcoman as a certificate that his horse has been killed 
in the service of the Khan, who is obliged to pay for it. 
We advanced cautiously now, surveying the ground from 
the summit of every little hill before showing ourselves ; 
and taking every precaution to avoid falling in with any 
wandering bands of Khivans who might be hovering about. 

About five o'clock in the afternoon we reached a point 
where the desert suddenly changed its character, and 
instead of the rolling dunes through which we had been 
passing, we now beheld a level plain, which sank away 
into a lower kind of terrace. Into this plain, but far away 
in the smoky distance, projected from the north a high 
ridge, which terminated in three or four low mountains. 
These were the mountains of Uch-Uchak on the banks of 
the Oxus. 

Forward we urge our jaded horses ; to-day, we must 
reach the river, for we have neither water nor provisions. 
Lower sinks the sun down the western sky, until it hangs 
on the horizon round and red, and projects long shadows 
of ourselves over the desert : then drops out of sight. 
Suddenly flash up on the western sky broad flame-like 
streaks of red, purple, and golden light, beneath which, far 
away on the edge of the horizon, we at last catch the 
glimmer of water. 

The Oxus at last ! 

When Kaufmann reached this spot and beheld the 
longed-for water, he took off his cap, and devoutly crossed 
himself, as did every officer on his stafi";, while the 
soldiers set up a shout, in spite of the Khivans who 
were howling around them, such as was never before 
heard in those regions. 



142 CAMPAiaNING ON THE OXUS. 

We did not reach the riyer until long after dark. 
Stealthily we give drink to our horses, soak a little black 
bread in the water, and then silently withdraw among the 
dunes to camp, and wait for daylight. 

What shall we see in the morning ? The white coats 
of the Kussians, or the tall black caps of the Khivans? 
We dare not light a fire, and we cautiously dismount in a 
little hollow, and throw ourselves in the sand, each man 
holding his horse's bridle-rein. 

Daylight comes, we emerge from our bed of sand, ascend 
a dune, and look cautiously around. We find we are not on 
the river at all, but on the edge of a reedy marsh, just at 
the foot of the mountains of Uch-Uchak. Neither Kus- 
sians nor Khivans are visible. The only sign of life is a 
white horse, halfway up the mountain-side, who, upon 
seeing us, gallops swiftly off, and disappears over the 
summit. Slowly we ascend the mountain. Cautiously we 
peer over its top, and scan the country lying beyond, 
in expectation of seeing friend or foe. We perceive 
neither ; but, instead, we behold — the Oxus ! 

Broad and placid it lay, sweeping far away to the 
north and south, through the far stretching yellow sand, 
like a silver zone bordered with green, and sparkling in 
the morning sunlight like a river of diamonds. I forgot 
Kaufmann, the Turcomans, the object of my expedition, 
everything, in the one delight of looking on its swiftly 
rushing waters. It was almost with an effort that I could 
bring myself to believe that I was really looking on that 
river, which stretches its mighty course from the moun- 
tains of India to the Aral sea ; and which has been the 
scene of so many historic events from almost the earliest 
ages of man. It seemed still more strange when I thought 
how few of my race had seen this river ; how few that had 



THE OXUS AT LAST! H3 

reached it had lived ; and how if I had been standing here 
two days ago my life would not have been worth a pin's 
fee. 

The hills or mountains of Uch-Uchak are scarcely 
more than 500 feet high. There are five or six little 
peaks of a rotten sandstone formation, inclosing between 
them a little crater-like valley a half a mile in diameter, 
which looks as though it had formerly been the bed of a 
lake. I thought I could distinguish around the almost 
perpendicular shores the old water line. Yet, as this 
valley is much higher than the surrounding plain, it 
does not seem possible there should have been a lake 
hero. 

But where was Kaufmann ? I scanned the horizon in 
every direction with my field-glass. I could see up and 
down the river for twenty miles, and far beyond, where 
the sands were gleaming yellow and bare, but not a trace 
of the army, or of any human habitation, tent, or kibitka. 
And yet he had been here, for I had seen the tracks of 
the cannon at the foot of the mountain. 

Where could he have gone ? A prey to a vague terror, 
I dashed down the mountain, and in a few minutes was at 
the edge of the water. I saw the dead ashes of many 
camp-fires, and that was all. 



144 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS 



CHAPTEE XlX. 

A NIGHT WITH THE OXUS. 

I HAD now been seeking Kaufmann twenty-nine days. 
When starting from Fort Perovsky I expected to over- 
take him in five. I hoped to find him at the well of 
Myn-Bulak in the Bukan-Tau mountains, but before reach- 
ing that point, I learned that he was not there, and would 
not be there. Ever since then, with the exception of 
the short time passed at Khala-ata, I had been in quest 
of him, expecting every day to overtake him. I had 
learned to feel to its full extent how hope deferred maketh 
the heart sick. 

Here again on the Oxus he had disappeared when I 
thought I was sure of him. Would I never find him ? 
To my imagination, wrought up by so many repeated 
disappointments, and my wanderings in this strange land, 
Kaufmann began to appear like a phantom ; I half ex- 
pected to wake up in my hotel in Paris, and find the 
expedition against Khiva a myth, and my own strange 
adventures a troubled dream. 

But no ; here were the dead ashes of burned-out camp- 
fires, and the tracks of the cannon. He could not be far 
now. I could see no indication of his having crossed 



ON THE TEAIL. 145 

the river at this point, and there was nothing to do 
but to follow his trail. 

I rode my horse into the river up to his belly, and, 
scooping up the water in my hands I tasted it. It was 
muddy, but sweet and good. The river was here, I judged, 
about 1200 yards wide. It was bordered on either side by 
a strip of green, varying in width from a few yards to a 
mile. Beyond this, the sand commenced again as before. 
There was plenty of grass and brushwood, and we decided 
to stop and take tea, as we had tasted nothing but a 
little black bread and water for twenty-four hours. 

Forward again in search of Kaufmann, with eager eyes 
and expectant faces. We ascend stealthily every little 
hillock and vantage ground, and peer cautiously over 
before advancing, determined at least to get the first view 
of the enemy, if enemy there be; and we survey con- 
tinually with our field-glass the opposite shore. 

The trail led along the right bank of the river in the 
direction of the Aral Sea. Sometimes it kept to the 
water's edge; sometimes it climbed the blufi's, here a 
hundred feet high, and skirted along their crest. All the 
day long we follow the trail, in momentary expectation of 
catching sight of the rear-guard, and all day long we are 
doomed to disappointment. 

At one place, where the road lies along the water's edge 
beneath the overhanging blufi's, we are terribly frightened 
by a camel that, tumbling over the cliff, falls right among 
us with a broken neck. For a moment, we imagine 
that he has been thrown down upon us by the Turco- 
mans, and that a shower of bullets will immediately 
follow. We seize our rifies, cock them, and for a few 
seconds await an attack with terrible anxiety. No shot 
is fired ; no Turcoman appears ; and at last, on going over 



146 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

to the dead camel, we find that he is blind, and so con- 
clude that he has fallen over of himself. This was but 
one of hundreds of camels left by Kaufmann which we 
saw wandering about alone. My people picked up three 
or four, which they tried to utilise, in order to rest our 
horses, but had never been able to get them to go for more 
than a mile or two. When a camel thinks he has gone far 
enough he will not move a step farther, and all attempts 
to induce him to change his mind are thrown away. 

Suddenly we meet five men on horseback coming around 
a bend of the blufiP, and once more we seize our arms, 
They dash info the river, swim across, and scurry off on 
the other side in the direction of Khiva, until they are 
lost in the sand. Judging from their rapid flight that 
they have no reinforcements near, I try two or three 
shots at them with my Winchester, but without effect. 
Later the guide with my glass catches sight of a group 
of fifteen or twenty men, probably Khivans, camped near 
the river. As they outnumber us, we think it prudent 
to give them a wide berth. They are in the valley 
below, and we on the bluffs, and thus we have the ad- 
vantage of seeing them before they can see us. Strik- 
ing into the sands, we ride a short circuit, and cautiously 
approach the river a few miles farther on. 

In the afternoon we come upon fields of excellent 
wheat and clover, which our horses eat with avidity — the 
first clover they have tasted for a month — and we soon 
begin to make out habitations, or something resembling 
them, on the opposite bank. But the sand still ap- 
proaches the river very closely on either side. 

Towards nightfall we perceive, on the other side, a 
group of horsemen, who appeared to be watching us ; 
but they, as well as the opposite shore, are lost in the 



A NIGHT-WATCH. 147 

darkness, which soon envelopes everything but the pale 
and ghostly river. 

And still there are no signs of Kaufmann, except here 
and there the ashes of burnt-out camp fires. Through 
the darkness we continue our march, gliding over the 
sand as silently as ghosts. Our nerves are strung to the 
utmost pitch of expectation ; for in truth the situation is 
becoming critical in the extreme. We have already been 
seen twice from the other side; the smallness of our 
force must have been remarked, and the enemy have but 
to cross the river to find us. We are expecting every 
moment to see Kaufmann's camp fires flaring up in the 
darkness, or to hear the " Mo uUofe," the " who goes 
there," of the Russian sentinel. 

The road now leads us high up on the bluff's overlook- 
ing the river. A dark storm cloud has gathered in the 
west, in the direction of Khiva, and seems to hang over 
the fated city. From time to time it throws out flashes 
of lightning, that are reflected in the pale river below, 
making the succeeding darkness ten times more sinister. 

Once, while the guides are on foot leading their horses, 
I think I see a flash of light far in advance. We stop and 
wait anxiously. It appears no more, and I conclude it is 
only a phantom of my over-wrought imagination. It is 
now eleven o'clock. Our tired horses have made forty-five 
miles since daylight, and we decide to camp. We turn 
off" to the river, give the horses water, and prepare to 
wait till daylight. 

I tried to get one of my people to stand guard, but, 
although they were fully aware of the danger, they showed 
such a disinclination to undertake the task, that I saw 
it was useless to order them. They would only sleep on 
their post, and I resolved to keep watch myself. In five 



148 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

minutes they are all sound asleep, each with his bridle- 
rein tied to his wrist, and I am left alone with the murmur 
of the river for company. For hours I pace up and 
down, for I am so sleepy and tired, that I cannot trust 
myself to sit even for a moment. 

The sky is overcast ; the darkness is impenetrable ; 
I can scarcely see a yard before me. All night long I 
keep my gloomy watch and listen to the voices of the 
river, that sound almost human in their murmur. From 
time to time there is a flash of lightning, and the lower- 
ing clouds, the broad river, the tall bluffs, and the white 
faces of my people, with the tired horses standing over 
them silent and motionless, start into being for an 
instant ; and then again — darkness. 

Daylight comes on once more, and once more we are 
in the saddle. A mile farther, and we pass a still 
smouldering fire. I was not deceived then when, the 
night before, I thought I saw a flash of light. A Khivan 
fire, or a Eussian fire ? If a Eussian fire, it could only 
have been an outpost ; and in that case the army would 
still be in sight. It was then a Khivan fire ; and so we 
had camped the night before just in time to keep from 
falling into a Khivan camp. 

Until a half hour after sunrise we push on, when 
suddenly -our ears are struck by a report that goes 
through us like an electric shock. The report is succeeded 
by another, and another, at short but regular intervals, and 
they come rolling up the valley of the Oxus, awakening 
the long silent echoes, like distant thunder. 

It IS the roar of cannon ! 



KHIVANS OE EUSSIANS? 149 



CHAPTEK XX. 

A MAUVAIS QUART d'hEURE. 

It was Kaufmann this time, sure enough. But, as I had 
all along feared, the Turcomans were with him, and now 
was the most critical moment of the whole journey. The 
roar of the cannon still continued ; a hattle was evidently 
in progress. How to find out the position of the contend- 
ing parties, and avoid the Khivans — this is my difficulty. 
The Turcomans might be between us and the Kussians, in 
which case our position was bad enough. 

The river here made a sudden curve to the left, whereas 
the cannonade was directly before us. I decided to ride 
straight to the cannon, and leave the river. I had some 
difficulty in inducing my people to do this. They were 
terribly frightened, and, for some unaccountable reason, 
wished to keep to the water. I even found it hard to get 
one of them to go with me to the summit of a little hill, to 
try and make out the position of the contending forces. 
The cannonade still continued, and appeared to be about 
five miles distant. 

We ascend the summit of the first slope, and cautiously 
peer over, but can see nothing. A mile farther on is 
another little hill, that cuts off the view. So far at least 
the coast is clear. We are about pushing on, when five 



150 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

horsemen suddenly come dashing over the hill, and, seeing 
us, wheel off towards the river, and disappear. It hegins 
to grow exciting. We urge our horses to their utmost, 
but the sand is so deep, and they are so tired, that it is 
impossible to force them out of a walk. The cannonade 
suddenly ceases. We approach the summit of the hill, 
which is covered with a short growth of sax-aul, and 
again peer over. This time we see something that may 
well give us pause. 

At the distance of about two miles there is a number of 
horses right across our path, probably 100 in all, scattered 
along a line of a mile in length. I cannot see any men, 
but Mustruf assures me he can make out some, and that 
by their costume they are either Kirghiz or Turcomans, 
he cannot say which; certainly not Eussians. This 
looks bad. If Kirghiz, they are friends ; but if Turco- 
mans, then, indeed, our position is almost as bad as 
it well could be. In that case we have three courses 
before us, all of which seem equally impracticable. Go 
back to Khala-ata ; make a circuit of ten to twenty miles 
through the sand, and thus slip around them ; or try 
to hide until, night, and then steal through their lines. 
Our horses are too feeble to attempt either of the first 
two plans ; and as to hiding, there is no cover but a 
few hillocks. In all probability we would be discovered 
before night. 

As the cannonade had ceased, I could not tell how 
far the Eussians were, nor their exact direction. So 
we halt in the sand to await events. Two horsemen 
suddenly detach themselves from the line, and start 
towards us, as though they had seen something in our 
direction, and were coming to investigate. Matters 
are now coming to a crisis. Eetreat is impossible ; and 



ABOUT TO PULL THE TEIGGER. 151 

there is no cover within two or three miles that woukl 
tempt a rabbit. I order my men to dismount and hide, as 
well as they can, and get their arms ready. They are all 
well armed, having among them two revolvers, two double- 
barrelled breech-loading guns, and four single-shot guns 
loaded with slugs. The misfortune is, none of them 
can be counted on to hit anything farther than ten 
feet ; probably they will even run away. My intention 
is to allow the two Turcomans to approach within ten 
yards, kill them, and if possible seize their horses ; for 
with one good horse I would risk my chance of reaching 
the Russians. The attempt is certainly desperate, for the 
rest of the enemy will be down on us as soon as they 
hear the report of fire-arms, and then — but I have no time 
to think of my further movements. 

The two Turcomans are within fifty yards, coming for- 
ward cautiously, as if they suspected the presence of an 
enemy. I look around on my followers, to see which of 
them I can count on. Old Ak-Mamatoff' seems per- 
fectly stolid, as though it were a matter of the utmost 
indifference to him. I had made life a burthen to him by 
dragging him here, where he had never engaged to go, 
and the sooner he got rid of his existence the better. 
Mustruf looks shaky. The only one of the three who 
seems to be ready for the fray is the young Kirghiz, 
Tangerberkhen. The cannonade suddenly recommences. 
I am lying down among the bushes with rille cocked, 
and ask Mustruf every moment if he still thinks they 
are Turcomans. He still whispers "Yes," until they 
are within twenty-five yards, and I am about to pull the 
trigger, when he springs up, gives a shout, and throws 
up his cap, wild with joy. He has recognised a Kirghiz 
and an acquaintance. I feel very light-hearted myself, 



152 CAMPAiaNING ON THE 0X13 S. 

and we shake hands with one another all around. The 
two Kirghiz proved to be djigits in the Eussian service, 
who were returning to Khala-ata. They informed us 
that the Eussians were only three miles farther on, that 
they were bombarding a fort across the river, and that 
the Khivans had all been driven to the other side. We 
sprang into our saddles, and pushed on. In half an hour 
we reached a dune near the river bank, where we had 
an extensive view of the river and valley. 

The Oxus here was about three-quarters of a mile 
wide. When I arrived on the scene, the opposite shore 
was covered with horsemen, who were galloping about, 
while two pieces of cannon, placed down near the water's 
edge, in front of a little fort, were booming away with 
might and main. Looking down the river on my own 
side, I beheld the Eussians, at the distance of about 
half a mile, scattered about, quietly looking on, while 
the two six-pounders were throwing shells. We drew 
rein, and watched the battle. The opposite bank was 
apparently about fifty feet high, while that on our side 
was low and flat. The enemy seemed to have thrown 
up earthworks on the other side. What appeared earth- 
works, however, afterwards turned out to be the high 
banks of the canal of Sheik-Arik, which here entered the 
oasis. On- the top of these the Khivans had built their fort 
to dispute the passage. Beyond, glimpses could be caught 
of gardens and trees. Here the gardens of Khiva really 
commence. With the exception of a few wheat and clover 
fields, that we had passed on the way, the river banks 
were uncultivated and uninhabited. But now on our 
side of the river, below where the Eussians were, I could 
see rich green grass and fields of waving grain. 

The Khivan artillery was worked nearly as fast as the 



WATCH FNG THE BATTLE. 153 

Eussian, and I was astonished to see that their cannon- 
balls, so far from falling in the water, as I should have 
expected at that distance, seemed to plough up the ground 
right among the Kussians. Although I could not at that 
distance see their effect, some of them, as I afterwards 
learned, carried a quarter of a mile oyer. The effect of 
the Eussian shells was very easily observed, as they tore 
up earth in every direction. The Khivans stood their 
ground pretty well, considering the disadvantage under 
which they were labouring, in having only solid shot 
instead of shells. 

This cannonade had been going on for about an hour. 
The Eussian shells had been tearing up the ground all 
around them during this time, and still the two pieces 
down at the water's edge held their ground. 

It was a curious scene ; and I suppose the old Oxus, since 
the time it first broke from the ice-bound springs of 
Pamir, had never heard such music as this. Five times 
before had the Eussians attempted to reach this very 
spot, and five times had they failed. Five times had 
they been driven back, beaten and demoralised either 
by the difficulties of the way, the inclemency of the 
season, or the treachery of the Khivans. The one 
detachment which had succeeded in capturing Khiva 
had afterwards been slaughtered to the last man; 
and now the Eussians stood at last, this bright May 
morning, on the bank of that historic river, with their old 
enemy once more before them. 

For my own part, I sat on my horse watching the 
progress of events with an interest all-absorbing. There 
was a sense of difficulties overcome and dangers passed, 
after my thirty days' chase, which, with the exciting scene 
before me, was well calculated to put a war correspondent 



154 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

into good humour. I could not help thinking how curiously 
fortune had favoured me. If I had the selection of the 
moment when I should arrive at the army, I could not 
possibly have chosen a more favourable one than the 
present. 

Suddenly a shell, which exploded among the cavalry up 
on the opposite bank, seemed to produce great panic and 
confusion. There was a scampering off in every direction ; 
a moment afterwards horses were brought down, the two 
pieces at the water's edge were quickly hauled off, and a 
few minutes later there was not a soul to be seen on the 
other shore. And thus ended the battle of Sheik-Arik. 



WHO AEE YOU?" 155 



CHAPTEE XXI. 

AT LAST. 

I NOW started down the river towards the Enssians, and, 
after crossing innumerable canals and ditches which cut 
up the valley in every direction, I succeeded in reaching 
them. 

As soon as I was within earshot, an officer, who had 
advanced towards me, cried out in Eussian : 

" Vid Tito ?" " who are you ?" with a very strong em- 
phasis on the you. 

" Americanetz," I reply. 

When I got within talking distance, 

" You are the man who crossed the Kyzil-Kum alone, 
are you ?" 

To which I answered in the affirmative, 

" All right ; come along, and I will present you to the 
General. We heard you were on the way to join us a 
few days ago," 

I dismounted, and he led me to General Golovatchoflf, 

whom I found sitting on a cannon, smoking a -papyross. 

Near him was another piece, dismounted ; and not far off 

the bodies of two horses that had just been killed ; I soon 

learned this was the only loss the Eussians had sustained. 

12 



156 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

Although the ground was ploughed up in every direction 
by the enemy's cannon-balls, not a single man had been 
touched. If the solid shot of the Khivans had been 
shells, the Eussian loss must certainly have been heavy. 

G-eneral Golovatchoff — a large, broad-shouldered man, 
with a long beard and a frank, open expression of coun- 
tenance that was very pleasing — shook hands with me 
cordially, told me I had done a very daring thing, and 
then invited me to breakfast, which he assured me would 
be ready in a few minutes. 

I suppose I looked as though I needed a breakfast, and 
something more. Hollow-eyed, hollow-cheeked, dirty, 
dust-covered, uncombed, unkempt, and ragged — my riflCj 
which I carried for a month, slung over my shoulder 
in a handouliere, had worn my coat into holes — I pre- 
sented but a sorry spectacle among the Eussians, who were 
all spruce in their white coats and caps, and gold and 
silver buttons, as clean and starchy as though they were 
on parade in Isaac's Square, St. Petersburg. 

The breakfast consisted of cold boiled beef, cold chicken, 
with a box of sardines, and a little vodka, and the cloth 
was spread out on the grass, which was here rich and 
luxuriant. 

They were all very friendly, and manifested a good deal 
of curiosity about my experience in the Kyzil-Kum, as 
well as surprise that I should have undertaken such a 
foolhardy journey alone. They said there were a hundred 
chances to one against me, and gave me such a lively 
account of the dangers I had escaped, that I really began 
to be frightened. I experienced something of the feeling 
of the man who, having killed, as he supposed, a fine 
large wolf, was aghast upon being told he had slain the 



AMONG THE EUSSIANS. 157 

largest and most magnificent lioness that had ever been 
seen in the country. 

They were very jubilant over the afi'air of the morning, 
and I found that I could not have arrived at a more 
favourable time. Everybody was in good humour. The 
great difficulties of the campaign were over, and the 
interesting part of it had just commenced. 

While at breakfast, Golovatchoff was informed that some 
of the enemy had returned, and were setting fire to a large 
boat or kayuk that was lying under the fort. The sharp- 
shooters were already at work, trying to drive them away. 
When they had at last succeeded in doing this, the 
General despatched one of Kaufmann's small iron boats 
immediately to the other side, with twenty soldiers and 
an officer of the topographical corps, to capture the 
burning boat and make a hasty map of the river and 
surrounding country. In a couple of hours the officer 
returned with the kayuk, which was but slightly 
damaged. 

I now learned that this was not the main body of the 
army, but only a detachment sent forward to reduce the 
fort. Kaufmann, with the rest of the army, was en- 
camped some five miles farther down the river. 

Instead of occupying the abandoned fort. General 
Golovatchoff gave orders to march back to camp. It 
was not Kaufmann's intention to cross the river at this 
point, but at Shura-Khana, three or four miles farther 
down. The affair of the morning had been brought about 
in order to allow some boats, captured at Uch-Uchak, 
to pass. The fight had really commenced the evening 
before, when General Kaufmann was riding up the river- 
bank, very uneasy because these boats had not arrived. 



158 CAMPAIGNINa ON THE OXUS. 

As he was passing this phice, the enemy opened on him in 
a very unexpected manner, for he had not until then 
suspected the existence of a fort here. The firing was 
very correct, the cannon-halls falling right among the 
staff, and in fact the correctness of their aim was, as the 
Grand Duke Nicholas laughingly expressed it, " remark- 
able — even disagreeable." The boats were already ar- 
riving, and as the enemy were no longer there to offer any 
resistance, we returned to camp to commence the passage 
next morning at a point lower down. Upon reaching the 
camp, I accepted the hospitality of the officer who had first 
accosted me. His name was Chertkoff, and he proved to 
be an old friend of Mr. Schuyler's. 

My first duty was to call and pay my respects to General 
Kaufmann. I found him sitting in an open tent, wrapped 
up in a Bokharan khalat, or gown, taking tea, and smoking 
a cigarette. A man between forty-five and fifty, bald, 
and rather small of stature for a Kussian, blue eyes, 
moustache, no beard, and a pleasant, kindly expression 
of countenance. He shook hands with me, asked me to 
sit down, and then remarked that I appeared to be 
something of a molodyetz (a brave fellow), and asked 
me, with a smile, if I knew what that meant. After 
a few questions about my own adventures, he gave me an 
account of the campaign up to that time, which I have 
reserved for the next chapter. He showed no hesitation 
in allowing me to accompany the army the rest of the 
way to Khiva. 

I next called on the Grand Duke Nicholas, whom I found 
living in a Khivan mud house, the first house in which he 
had lived for three months. By him I was likewise 
received in a very friendly manner. 




GENERAL KAUFMANN. From the ^Illustrated London News.' 



A TASTE OF HORSE-FLESH. 159 

Then I returned to Chertkoff's tent, and, for the first 
time in two months, slept tranquilly. 

From this time forward until the end of the campaign 
against Khiva, and afterwards, during the war against the 
Turcomans, I was with the Russian army. I would here 
take occasion to speak of the kindness with which I was 
treated on all hands. I arrived among them almost 
destitute, I had neither sugar nor tea, the very necessities 
of life in that country, nor anything else to eat ; hut I 
never went hungry. It is true that for the first three 
days after my arrival I came nearer starving to death than 
ever in my life before. This was partly because I was 
enfeebled by a long course of semi-starvation, but princi- 
pally because there was nothing to eat for anybody. 
Supplies were exhausted, and none had as yet been 
received from the other side of the river. For some 
time nobody had anything, and we would have been glad 
of the black dried bread which I had previously thought 
such hard fare. Some horses were killed, but they did 
not last long, as many could not be spared. It was the 
first time I ever tasted horse-flesh ; I found it exceed- 
ingly good, and would have been glad to get more of it. 

But, from the time they had anything to offer me, I 
never passed a tent where they were eating or drinking 
that I was not invited to join. From the Grand Duke 
down to the smallest officer in the detachment, they were 
all the same. I was invited on all hands, twenty times a 
day, to eat or take tea. Indeed, until I reached Khiva, I 
made no arrangements for having my servants prepare 
meals for me, but simply lived on the community at large. 
And now, as I write, I cannot think of the hospitality I 
received without a throb of grateful remembrance. I take 



160 COMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

this occasion to thank them ; to thank not only those 
with whom I became intimate, but the many whose names 
I do not even know, but whose kindness and generosity I 
have experienced, and whose friendly faces I shall not 
easily forget. 



PART II. 



THE FALL OF KHIVA, 



THE EUSSIAN FORCES. 163 



CHAPTEK I. 

KAUFMANN's march from TASHKENT. 

It is now time to give the history of G-eneral Kaufmann's 
march from Tashkent. 

His force was composed of eleven companies of infantry, 
1650 men, one company of sappers and miners, half a 
battery, or four pieces of horse artillery, six pieces of foot- 
artillery, breech-loading, all of the newest models ; half 
a battery of mountain-pieces, a battery and a half of 
rockets, and 600 Cossacks ; in all about 2500 men. This 
detachment left Tashkent on the 15th of March. 

The train was composed of between 3000 and 4000 
camels, hired from the Kirghiz at the rate of twelve 
rubles per month, with the proviso that each camel dying 
on the way should be paid for at the rate of fifty rubles 
apiece. The whole force was united at Djizzak by the 
25th of March, which place the head of the column 
left on the same day. 

As far as the well of Aristan-Byl-Kuduk the march 
of General Kaufmann presented nothing remarkable. The 
cold at first was very severe, and was rendered more un- 
endurable by the absence, in many places, of anything 
that would serve as fuel. The sufferings of the troops 



164 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

during this time were extreme, but they were soon 
ameliorated by the rapid approach of warm weather. 

By the 13 th of April they had reached the well of 
Aristan-Byl-Kuduk. 

It was near here that Kaufmann decided to change his 
route, and march to Khala-ata, instead of continuing on to 
the Bukan-Tau mountains, as he had originally intended. 
He accordingly sent orders for the detachment from 
Kazala to meet him at this place, instead of waiting for 
him at Myn-Bulak. 

The Kazala column, of which it is now necessary to 
speak, was composed of eight companies of infantry, half a 
battery of mountain-pieces, half a battery of rockets, two 
mitrailleurs, and 150 Cossacks, in all about 1400 men. 
They set out from Kazala, or Fort No. 1, on the 11th of 
March, and were to meet the column from Tashkent at 
Bukali, in the Bukan-Tau mountains, 120 miles from 
the Oxus. They had already reached this point, when 
they received the order to join the other detachment 
at Khala-ata. 

This change of route appears to me to have been 
a great mistake. Although, for the Tashkent detach- 
ment, the way by Khala-ata was the shortest and 
best, it was quite otherwise for the Kazala column. 
At Bukali they were within 120 miles of the river. 
It was then only the middle of April; the weather was 
still cool, and there being several wells they would 
besides have been obliged to carry water only half that 
distance. The river might thus have been reached in 
ten days, just one month sooner than they actually did 
reach it. Instead of this, however, they had, in carrying 
out Kaufmann's order, to make a retrograde movement, 
which required two weeks, and at the end of that time they 



THE MARCH TO THE OXUS. 165 

were no nearer the river than before. The same time was 
consumed by Kaufmann in waiting for them. And the 
time thus lost was the most favourable for marching, 
as the weather was still cool, and the fierce heat which 
afterwards assailed them had not yet come on. 

When it was decided to change the route, it would 
have even been better to push on to the river as fast 
as possible, and let the Kazala detachment follow the 
original route marked out for it. 

General Kaufmann was deterred from this course by 
prudential reasons. He thought the Kazala detachment 
too weak to encounter the enemy alone ; and although 
the result proved that this opinion was wrong, there was 
sufficient reason to dissuade a prudent general from taking 
the risk. 

Kaufman reached Khala-ata on the 6 th of May, and the 
junction of the columns took place on the same day. 

Here they halted several days, in order to explore the 
road before them, ascertain the position of wells, and the 
supply of water to be obtained, before advancing farther. 

It was while advancing from here to Adam-Kurulgan 
with a small party, to search for water, that Colonel 
Ivanoff was attacked in the manner already related in 
another chapter. 

Having driven the enemy away from Adam-Kurulgan, 
and obtained, by digging wells, a sufficient supply of water 
for the army, they advanced to that point on the 12th of 
May, leaving a small garrison at Khala-ata. 

This was the last point at which water could be obtained 
before reaching the Oxus. Every preparation, therefore, 
was made for a rapid march to the river. The distance 
was unknown, but it was thought it could be reached 
in two days, or three at the outside. Accordingly a 



166 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

supply of water was taken for three days, and on the 
morning of the 17th of May they marched from Adam- 
Kurulgan. 

Their hopes of a speedy arrival at the river were doomed 
to disappointment. 

The weather had now become excessively hot. The 
camels, enfeebled by their long march from Tashkent, 
and scarcity of food, were fast becoming worthless. 
Instead of carrying 600 pounds, the ordinary burden of a 
camel, many of them only carried half that, and some 
even* less. 

The advance-guard halted as usual about eight o'clock 
in the morning, having made about fifteen miles. Ac- 
cording to the order of march usually followed, the 
rear-guard should arrive at ten in the morning ; then the 
whole army would halt until three in the afternoon, when 
the heat had somewhat abated, before making the after- 
noon march. Instead of this, however, the rear-guajrd, 
owing to the extreme weakness of the camels, only 
arrived at ten o'clock at night. Many of the camels had 
been left on the way, and their loads had been transferred 
to the others, which were thus overburdened. Instead of 
thirty miles, as had been intended, the troops had only 
made fifteen, and upon examination it was found that 
nearly the entire supply of water had been exhausted. 

The utter impossibility of proceeding without more 
water through an unknown desert — a distance that might 
indeed be only thirty miles, but which might also be 100 
— was only too evident. A single retrograde movement 
might be the signal for a rising of the whole Central 
Asian population; and the possibility of staying where 
they were, and sending back for more water, was not to be 
discussed for a moment. They could not advance, and 



ON THE BRINK OF DESTRUCTION. 167 

they dare not retreat. From a position of secure con- 
fidence they had passed to one of utter desperation in a 
single day. 

General Kaufmann passed through one of those moments 
of despair which every general who has ever commanded 
an army has probably experienced at least once in his, 
life. The situation was hopeless. The men were with- 
out water, the camels almost exhausted, the artillery 
horses already sufiering. The thermometer marked 100^ 
of Fahrenheit. He was on the very verge of a similar 
disaster to that which, unknown to him, had overtaken 
Colonel Markosoff only a few days before, in the Turco- 
man desert, on the other side of the Amu-Darya ; but 
failure to him entailed consequences a hundred times 
more tremendous. The Eussians only maintain their 
authority in Central Asia by convincing the people that 
they are invincible and infallible. One mistake, one 
defeat, and this illusion would be destroyed; for the 
people finding the Eussians could be beaten would 
rise. Kaufmann was about to give the order to retreat, 
when he was saved by one of those trivial circumstances 
which often intervene in the most unlooked-for manner 
in the affairs of men. 

Among the fifty or sixty guides in General Kauf- 
mann's employ, there was one who had been picked 
up by Colonel Dreschern in the Kyzil-Kum. He was 
in rags and tatters, and had presented himself, ofi'er- 
ing to serve without pay, in order to revenge himself 
on the Khivans, or, what was the same thing to him, 
Turcomans, who had captured and murdered a part of his 
family, and cariied off the rest to be sold into slavery. 
He was employed to serve with the other guides, and no 
other attention was paid to him. This man now came 



168 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

forward, and, although, the other guides declared there 
was no water nearer than the Amu, said he would find 
some in the immediate neighbourhood. 

General Kaufmann took out his pocket flask, and said, 
"Bring me that full of water, and I will give you 100 
rubles." The guide was then provided with a good horse, 
and he was off like the wind. This was at daylight of the 
morning of the 15th, and by a little after sunrise he had 
returned with the flask full of water, foul and nauseous, but 
water, nevertheless, that would support life. He declared 
he had found three wells, four miles north of the caravan 
route leading to the Amu, unknown to caravans, and never 
visited by them, and that the water, such as it was, could 
be found in sufficient quantities to supply the army. 

Kaufmann immediately gave the order to march, and 
two hours afterwards the advance-guard had arrived and 
encamped on the spot, which has since been called Alty- 
Kuduk, or " Six Wells," They found water, as de- 
scribed by the guide, in three wells, at a depth varying 
from fifty to one hundred feet, but very bad, and in in- 
sufficient quantities. In one was the body of a dog, 
which had probably been thrown there by the Khivans. 
But, bad as the water was, it had to be portioned out to 
the men at the rate of a pint a day, in order to prevent 
the whole supply from being instantly exhausted. 
Although Kaufmann gave orders to have three more wells 
dug, each of which supplied more or less water, it was 
still so scarce that two or three of the native guides died 
of thirst. 

The sufferings of the troops for two or three days, 
exposed to the broiling heat of a desert sun, on a pint of 
water a day, can be easily imagined. It was something 
terrible. 



SADYK'S ATTACK. 169 

In the meantime, as there was no water for the camels, 
Kaiifmann sent the whole train back to Adam-Kurulgan, 
to let them drink, and to get a fresh supply of water be- 
fore making another attempt to proceed. The camels 
were sent with an escort of four companies, or 600 men. 
It was against this escort that the troops of the Khan 
made their first serious attack. 

Sadyk, then probably camped on the Amu, having been 
informed by his spies that Kaufmann had sent all his 
camels back under a small escort, determined to fall on 
them, and cut them off. He understood very well that if 
he could capture the camels, the army was beaten, and 
would have to retreat. He took 500 Turcomans, each 
provided with two horses, and, passing Kaufmann at Alty- 
Kuduk, reached Adam-Kurulgan early on the morning of 
the 18th of May. 

It was about four o'clock in the morning when the 
Russian pickets were driven in, and the alarm was given. 
By the time the troops had seized their arms, the Turco- 
mans were very near the camp. The attack was conducted 
with considerable spirit and vigour. The Khivan standard 
was borne by Sadyk himself, who rode a splendid white 
horse, and he advanced so near, that if any of the sharp- 
shooters had known it was Sadyk th«y would certainly 
have picked him off. But what can men, undisciplined, 
and armed only with sabres, however brave individually, 
do against breechloaders ? Soon perceiving the impos- 
sibility of advancing in face of the superior arms of the 
Russians, the Khivans finally retreated, completely dis- 
comfited. Sadyk, as appeared from the reports of the 
prisoners taken, had been confident of a complete victory, 
having been misinformed as to the real number of trooj)s 

he would have to deal with, and supposing he would only 

13 



170 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

find a mere handful of men. This was the first serious 
encounter the Khivans had with the Russians, They 
were very much discouraged by it, although still not 
without hopes that Kaufmann would be unable to reach 
the river. 

Sadyk, it may be stated, is a soldier of fortune, who was 
then in the service of the Khan, and who used to exact a 
good deal of tribute from rich caravans on his own 
account. Immediately after the fall of Khiva, he made 
a pilgrimage to the tomb of the prophet, but has since 
returned, I believe, to Merv. 

Kaufmann, in the meantime, sufi'ered the greatest 
anxiety, and his soldiers the greatest hardships at Alty- 
Kuduk. Only those who have experienced it can form an 
idea of the horror of being among a mass of men who are 
suffering the pangs of thirst. Although the remarkable 
discipline of the Eussian troops prevented anything like 
the least disorder, the consciousness on the part of the 
officers that the time might come when no discipline 
would be possible, and that then they would fall an easy prey 
to the enemy, who were relying upon such an eventuality, 
was not the least among their woes. Gradually, however, 
the water grew better and more plentiful, the daily 
wants of the army were supplied, and immediate pressing 
need was not felt. But their forebodings for the future 
were of the darkest. A week had been consumed by the 
return to Adam-Kurulgan ; the camels were growing 
weaker every day, and less capable of carrying their 
burdens ; many of them would certainly have to be left 
on the way. 

The camel is a very strong beast, and capable of carry- 
ing immense burdens, and of enduring great fatigues when 
in good condition. But once enfeebled by a succession of 



THE OXUS, OK DEATH. 171 

long, hard marches, as were those of Kaufmann, he soon 
becomes worthless, and months of repose are required to 
restore him. Instead of a load of 600 pounds, the burden 
allotted to each camel at the commencement of the ex- 
pedition, they were now only capable of carrying 200, 
and even 100 pounds each. Every day the number of 
animals which became too feeble to carry anything, and 
that had to be abandoned, increased. The camel, it 
should not be forgotten, plays the same role in a war like 
this as railroads in European wars. For the army to be 
deprived of transport here in the desert, was to perish. 

The position then of Kaufmann, it may easily be 
imagined, was a most difficult one ; not only the success 
of the expedition, but the life of every one of his men, 
was dependent on him — a disaster here would be certain 
death to every soul in the detachment — and the distance to 
the Amu was still a matter of conjecture. At last, after a 
week had been consumed, a fresh supply of water was 
taken, the camels returned to Alty-Kuduk, and the troops 
started once more for the Oxus, with the only alternative 
left them of reaching it, or of leaving their bones in the 
desert. It had been found, however, that the camels that 
were still in a condition to travel would not be able to carry 
the whole of the baggage. So, very reluctantly, orders 
were given to leave nearly the whole of it behind, together 
with four of the six iron boats Kaufmann had specially 
made for the passage of the Oxus, two pieces of artillery, 
and nearly all their remaining supply of forage. They 
took with them only what was of the most absolute 
necessity. 

Two companies were left behind to protect the baggage, 
and this is why I found troops at Alty-Kuduk. 

From Alty-Kuduk their march had been very difficult 



172 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

and trying. The last day before reaching the river they 
had been surrounded all the time by the Turcoman light- 
horse, who kept galloping around them the whole distance, 
harassing the march. The army had pushed forward for 
several miles with a continual fire on the skirmish lines, 
while the heat was almost overpowering. It was here I 
had seen so many dead horses. 

The discipline of the troops was excellent. Although 
many of them were mad with thirst, upon arriving at the 
little lake of which I have already spoken, not a man 
broke ranks to get at the water, along the edge of which 
they were marching, until they had received permission. 
Kaufmann spoke of the conduct of his soldiers almost 
with tears in his eyes. He said there were no other 
soldiers in the world capable of doing what they had done. 
And I am fully of his opinion. 

Once arrived at the water, and the safety of the army 
assured, the General soon changed his plan of action from 
the defensive to the offensive ; he threw a few shells among 
the Turcomans who had gathered in a mass near the foot 
of the mountain Uch-Uchak ; charged with the cavalry, 
pursued the enemy eight or ten miles along the river 
bank, and captured eleven " kayuks," or boats. Without 
these boats he would never have been able to cross the 
river. From Uch-Uchak to Sheik-Arik, they had seen 
little of the Khivans, until the fort unmasked its battery 
the day before. 



FIRST GLIMPSES OF KHIVA. 173 



CHAPTEK II. 

CROSsma the oxus. 

The next morning at daylight we took up our line of 
march, but instead of going to Shurak-Khana down the 
river, as originally intended, we went back to our position 
of the day before. Upon consideration, Kaufmann had 
decided to cross at Sheik- Arik, the scene of the previous 
day's engagement. 

We were soon on the spot, the boats had arrived, and 
within an hour the first boat-load of fifty men had 
started across the river. This was the 30th of May. 
The morning was bright and warm, and we threw our- 
selves on the fresh green grass before our tents, which 
we had pitched at the water's edge, and lazily watched 
the scene before us. It was extremely beautiful and 
animated. The sunlight danced over the surface of the 
broad Oxus. The other shore, dim and misty, was lined 
with dense groves of fruit-trees and elms, through which 
could be seen, here and there, the grey walls of an 
" Uzbeg " farm-house, or the slender facade of a graveyard 
mosque. It lay silent and lonely, without any moving 
figure to give it life, this strange, unknown land of Khiva ; 
and seen, away over the water, bathed in a sleepy, glorious 
splendour, looked as beautiful and dreamy as the fabled 



174 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

land of the lotus-eaters. Idly I watclied it, thinking of 
all the stories I had ever heard of it ; of its cruel and 
despotic Khans ; its wild fanatical Mohamedhan popula- 
tion ; its beautiful women ; its strange mysterious cha- 
racter ; and its isolation, which had rendered it inaccessible 
to Europeans as the enchanted caves of the mountain. 
I was unable to realise the situation, and half expected to 
wake up and find myself some thousands of miles away in 
another hemisphere. 

In strange contrast to the quiet of the other side 
was the life, animation, and movement of ours. The 
shore was covered with horses and camels, Cossacks and 
soldiers — some just arriving, some splashing about in the 
water, climbing into the boats, dragging in the artillery, 
forcing in the unwilling horses, tumbling in the baggage, 
and shouting and crying to each other madly the while. 

The soldiers seemed perfectly at home in the water ; 
and, although there were many of them who never saw 
so much water in their lives before, they appeared to 
take to it as naturally as young ducks. Twenty or 
thirty brawny, muscular fellows, stripped naked, would 
plunge into the river, seize a rope, and drag a boat 
up stream to give it a fair start for crossing ; while 
General Kaufmann, sitting on a camp-stool at the edge of 
the river,- encouraged them from time to time with the 
word " molodtsi," " brave fellows." All was bustle and 
animation. 

It took a boat only about twenty minutes to cross, and 
the same time to return ; but it was borne down the river 
so far each passage, that dragging it back to the starting- 
point against the current required fully an hour. There 
were three large boats, capable of carrying each fifty oi 
seventy-five men, and eight small ones that would hold 



ACROSS THE RIVER. 175 

only about ten. These boats, called " Kayuks," are con- 
structed of the trunks of small trees, rough-hewn to an 
even thickness of about six inches. They are nearly flat- 
bottomed, with a very heavy piece of timber forming the 
stem and stern, which project three or four feet above the 
hull— on the whole, a very heavy and unwieldy craft. 

All day the passage of the river was continued without any 
opposition on the part of the enemy. Their utter incapa- 
city for defending themselves was shown by the fact that 
they thus quietly allowed Kaufmann to cross the river 
here without the slightest molestation. They might have 
hid behind the banks, out of reach of the artillery, and 
overpowered each boat-load of soldiers in turn. It would 
have been impossible for the Kussian artillery to protect 
the troops under such circumstances. 

In a few hours, two companies and four small four- 
pounders had safely crossed and taken up a defensive 
position in and about the fortress. This put them out of 
danger of being overpowered by any sudden assault, and 
thus the passage of the Oxus was assured. 

Meanwhile we knew nothing of what was passing at 
Khiva, and our imaginations were excited by the myste- 
rious silence that reigned on the other side. 

Would the Khan think of making any serious resistance, 
after thus giving undisputed passage of the Amu, his 
strongest line of defence ? Or would he simply run away, 
and betake himself to the desert ? We had no means of 
deciding this question, and could only conjecture as to 
what his future line of action would be. We had not then 
learned that Verevkin, at the head of the Orenburg 
detachment, was rapidly advancing on the other side, and 
that the poor Khan had his hands already full. That night, 
about /^^welve o'clock, when everybody had gone to sleep, 



176 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

we were suddenly awakened by the reveille. Springing 
to our feet, in the half belief that the enemy were making 
a night attack, we found that it was not the Khivans, but 
the water, that was advancing upon us. The old Oxus, 
angry, perhaps, at being crossed, had suddenly commenced 
rising since dark, as though hoping to catch us napping. 
It had risen about six feet in the course of three hours, 
and threatened to drown us out. The order was given to 
decamp, and move to higher ground — an order carried 
out in considerable confusion. My comrade and I got 
separated from our servants and baggage in the darkness, 
and were unable to find them — a misfortune which was 
not lightened by our being obliged to swim our horses 
over a canal, along with camels and Cossacks, so that we 
got wet to the skin. As it was impossible to find anybody, 
we had nothing to do but throw ourselves on the damp 
grass, with our saddle-blankets for a cover, and wait until 
daylight. 

The next morning the entire aspect of afiairs had 
changed. The Oxus was so wide, and the current so rapid, 
that Kaufmann was obliged to change his base of opera- 
tions, and move up the river about a mile. This effected, 
the passage continued without interruption, but much 
more slowly than the day before. It now required fully 
three hours for a boat to make the round trip. The horses 
swam over for the most part, and nearly all the camels 
were sent back for the detachments of Alti-Kuduk and 
Khala-ata. I crossed with General Kaufmann and his staff 
on the 1st of June. 



AFTEE STARVATION, PLENTY. 177 



CHAPTEE III. 

AMONG THE KHIVANS. 

Upon setting foot on shore, my comrade and I made a 
rush for the bazaar, which had been opened that day for 
the first time by the Khivans, in response to a friendly 
proclamation of General Kaufmann. For twenty-four 
hours we had eaten nothing but a handful of djugera, 
or millet. Now, fasting for twenty-four hours under 
ordinary circumstances, when you are in good condition 
physically, is a matter of no consequence at all. But 
when you have been on short rations for a month, during 
which time you have consumed your superfluous store of 
fat, it becomes a serious matter indeed. 

The Khivans had responded to Kaufmann's proclama- 
tion with cartloads of flour, fruit, chickens, sheep, fresh 
wheaten cakes, " hot and hot," apricots, rice, sugar, tea, 
great quantities of white mulberries, together with clover 
and djugera for the horses. They had drawn up their 
great lumbering wooden carts just outside the camp, 
and were now surrounded by the Kussian soldiers, with 
whom they seemed on excellent terms. A few of the 
soldiers spoke Tartar, or Kirghiz, but those who could 
not managed to get on somehow by signs, and the most 
lively exchange was going on between them and the 



178 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. ' 

natives when we arrired upon the scene. The Kussians 
were paying, as I observed, triple and quadruple prices 
without hesitation. Where they got the money, I do not 
know, and cannot guess to this day, but the fact is they 
all seemed to have money to spend. 

My friend and I bought hurriedly several pounds of 
flour, a sheep, a calf, a quantity of warm bread, some 
Bokharan honey, apricots and mulberries — enough pro- 
visions, in short, to last a month, never doubting for a 
moment but we should eat them all the same day. We were 
so hungry, that we were not even then quite satisfied that 
we had enough to supply our present wants. The Khivans 
who brought us these things were the " Uzbegs " of the 
environs ; and, having satisfied my craving of hunger by 
two or three wheaten cakes and a little honey, I com- 
menced examining the strange people around me with 
great curiosity. 

They were generally medium-sized, lean, muscular fel- 
lows, with long black beards, and something of a sinister 
cast of countenance. Their costume consisted of a white 
— or what was once white — cotton shirt, and loose trousers 
of the same material, over which was worn a " khalat," a 
kind of long tunic, cut straight, and reaching to the heels. 
The khalat of the Khivans is very ugly, of a dirty brown 
and yellow, disposed in narrow stripes — entirely unlike 
the beautiful khalat of the Bokhariots, with its brilliant 
colours. Most of them were barefooted, and they wore a 
tall, heavy, black sheepskin cap, weighing fully six or 
seven pounds. Altogether, the costume of the Khivans 
is, I think, the ugliest and most inconvenient I have ever 
seen. The heavy sheepskin cap alone is enough to destroy 
the working of the most active brain, and upon seeing their 
monstrous hats, I no longer wondered at the backward 



DEMEANOUR OF THE KHIVANS. 179 

state of their civilisation. The khalat, besides being 
hideously ugly, is most inconvenient; and although 
generally wadded with cotton, and very warm, is never 
taken off apparently, not even during the hottest days, 
when the wearers are performing manual labour. 

They appeared very friendly ; and, so far from being 
afraid of their conquerors, did not hesitate, as I before 
remarked, to ask triple and quadruple prices for every- 
thing they sold. They had at first thought the Rus- 
sians would simply take what they wanted without pay, 
not even excepting their wives — a very natural pro- 
ceeding, according to their ideas, and one which they 
themselves would certainly have adopted. But when 
they found this was not the case, they, with true 
Asiatic acuteness, commenced driving the best possible 
bargain. 

To tell the truth, I was considerably surprised at the 
orderly proceedings of the Russians. I had expected that 
upon entering Khiva they would sack and burn the place, 
and slaughter the inhabitants. This was one of the 
principal reasons given for refusing correspondents of 
newspapers permission to accompany the expedition. 
The Russian authorities, it was said, did not want these 
atrocities reported. This reason, of course, was given to 
hide the real one, which was to prevent any Englishmen 
from going to Khiva. 

General Kaufmann adopted a very different system in 
dealing with the Khivans. As soon as he reached the 
river, he issued a proclamation, assuring them that if they 
would stay quietly in their homes they would not be 
molested ; that their property and their women would be 
respected ; and that the Russians would pay with ready 
money for supplies, provisions, and forage brought into 



180 CAMPAIG-NING ON THE OXUS. 

camp. But lie warned them, that if the Eussians had to 
go into the country to forage for supplies, they would 
take what they needed without paying for it, and would, 
besides, pillage and burn every abandoned house they 
should find. The supplies brought in that day were iu 
answer to this proclamation. 

Nor did the soldiers show any disposition to give the 
lie to Kaufmann's promises. There were no attempts to 
take anything by force. They paid the prices asked 
without grumbling, as though long accustomed to this 
mode of dealing with conquered enemies. To tell the 
truth, I think the world in general has a very imperfect 
and exaggerated notion of the Eussians, and especially 
of the Eussian soldiery. I remember what my idea of 
a Eussian soldier was, not many years ago. A tall, 
giant-like fellow, with enormous bristling beard and 
moustache, fierce eyes, and a terrible aspect, with all the 
ferocious instincts of a savage, and nothing in common 
with civilised troops except his discipline; — such was 
my idea of the Eussian soldier, and I suppose there 
are few of my readers who have not had very similar 
notions. This is a great mistake. 

The Eussian soldier is very far indeed from being a 
savage. He is neither cruel nor bloodthirsty, as far as I 
have seen,- but, on the contrary, rather kind and gentle, 
when not enraged ; and I saw many soldiers do little acts 
of kindness to the Turcoman children, during the campaign 
against the Yomuds, which greatly struck me. The lower 
classes of the Eussian people, although ignorant and 
superstitious to the last degree, are not by nature either 
cruel or brutal. 

The Khivans at first refused the Eussian paper money, 
as they had never seen it before, and did not understand 



A TOY-HOUSE FOET. 181 

it. They accepted with eagerness, however, the small 
silver money in pieces of ten, fifteen, and twenty kopecks, 
of which the Eussians had a large supply. A piece of 
twenty kopecks, about sevenpence of English money, passed 
readily for one " tenga," a silver coin of the Khivans. 

The most curious things they brought us were the white 
mulberries, a kind which I had never before seen. The 
wheaten cakes, too, were peculiar. They were made of 
unbolted flour, mixed simply with water, rolled out thin 
about the size of a large dinner-plate, and baked a nice 
brown on the inner sides of a mud oven. This is the only 
bread known in Khiva, and when eaten warm, is really 
excellent. The gardens and cultivated land do not extend 
quite to the river at Sheik-Arik, but stop short within 
about half a mile of the fort. As there were neither trees 
nor grass here, we found we were much worse off than on 
the other side, where there was plenty of grass at least. 
The dust was terrible — worse even than at Khala-ata. 
The banks of the canal, formed of dry, soft earth, had 
first been trampled into powder by the Khivans, and then 
by the Eussians, until it was a foot deep ; and the wind 
blew it about in whirlwinds, that at times were suffoca- 
ting. I never suffered so much from dust in my life ; and 
the fresh green gardens, and the cool, dark shade of 
elms, which were within a quarter of a mile of us, 
and which we were not allowed to approach, only made 
the contrast more painful. 

We found the fort of Sheik-Arik a very small affair 
indeed. It was not more than thirty feet in diameter, a 
mere toy-house, and utterly insignificant as a place of 
defence. The situation, however, was capable of a very 
formidable defence, if the troops of the Khan had known 
how to use it. Sheik-Arik, as its name indicates, is a 



182 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUR. 

canal, now dry. It formerly received and conducted water 
from the river into the interior of the Khanate, and may 
do so yet, when the water is high. Its banks, which are 
from twenty to thirty feet in height, run for a short 
distance almost parallel to the river, and form an earth- 
work of formidable dimensions. The six-pound shells of 
the Eussians might have exploded here a long time before 
making any impression on the solid banks of earth. The 
utter ignorance of the Khivans of military matters was 
most sttikingly shown in the construction of the little 
toy-house of a fort, whose walls were so thin, that shells 
went through them like cardboard. 



FIEST ADVANCES. 183 



CHAPTER ly. 

THE GAKDENS. 

We had been three days at Sheik- Arik, when suddenly 

the Khivans ceased bringing in provisions. As this was 

the only dependence the army had for food, it became 

necessary to take active measures for procuring supplies, 

and Kaufmann prepared to put his threat of foraging into 

execution. It appeared that the troops of the Khan, 

having recovered from their fright, had returned to the 

neighbourhood, and threatened with death anybody who 

should bring in supplies to the Russians. 

Kaufmann sent out a reconnoitring and foraging party, 

under the command of Colonel Cherkovsky, consisting 

of 300 infantry, two little four-pounders, and 250 

Cossacks. The latter were to forage, but not to take 

anything by force which could be had for money. They 

had permission to pillage any abandoned houses they 

might find, and the officer in command was to inform 

the inhabitants that if they did not immediately bring 

in supplies for money, he would send and take them 

for nothing. The infantry were to advance into the 

country, reconnoitre the ground, and endeavour to find 

and feel the enemy. 

We marched out of camp about noon, on the 3rd of 
14 



184 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXHS. 

Tune. Up to this point we had seen little of Khiva and 
the Khivans ; for the right bank of the river was unin- 
habited here, and the gardens on the left bank did not 
quite extend to the river. We had seen nothing, there- 
fore, but the still and silent trees that seemed to hide 
the secrets of the place so mysteriously. Now we were 
about to enter the renowned gardens. After crossing 
the short space of country between them and us, which 
was cut up in every direction by canals, we passed over 
a bridge that spanned a deep and narrow ditch; and, 
advancing along a broad, well-kept, but dusty road, soon 
found ourselves among the trees in the mysterious confines 
of Khiva. 

The change from the red-hot glare of the sand to 
the cool shade and fresh, green verdure which greeted 
our weary eyes, was as sudden as it was agreeable. There 
were little fields of waving grain ; fruit-trees of all kinds, 
bending under their loads of ripe and green fruits ; tall 
noble old elms, spreading their long arms, thick green 
foliage, and dark shadows over little pools of water ; 
grey, battlemented walls of houses and farmyards peep- 
ing out from among the trees. The newness, the strange- 
ness of the place, the mystery hanging over it, its 
isolation and impenetrability, made us survey the scene, 
that was ' thus opened for the first time to the gaze of 
Europeans, with a delight aud admiration only equalled 
by that of Columbus, when first setting foot in a new 
world. Over the road hung mulberry-trees, with their 
rich, luscious berries ; apple-trees, with their mass of 
dark green foliage ; apricot-trees, aglow with the rosy 
bloom of their delicate, delicious fruit ; cherries, gleam- 
ing rich and red among the leaves. Tall young poplars 
lifted their slender forms against the sky, and streams of 



A GAEDEN OF EDEN. 185 

water, shaded with bushes, ran about in every direction. 
To us, accustomed to the red-hot glare of the desert, it 
seemed a very garden of Eden. 

This part of the country is inhabited by the Uzbegs. 
Their houses and farmyards are inclosed by heavy walls, 
from fifteen to twenty feet high, strengthened with 
buttresses and strong corner towers. The entrance is 
through an arched and covered gateway, closing with 
a very heavy wooden gate. Built on the same rect- 
angular plan, from twenty-five to seventy-five yards 
square, each farmhouse is a little fortress in itself, far 
more formidable than the one at Sheik-Arik, and is 
actually intended to serve that purpose. The walls are 
composed of mud, but of a kind that gets comparatively 
hard. It is not worked up into small bricks, like the adobes 
of the Mexicans, but into huge blocks like granite, three 
or four feet square, and as many thick. Within the 
inclosure are contained the stables for horses, cattle, 
sheep, and all the live stock, as well as the dwelling of 
the inhabitants. Near the dwelling is always a little 
pool of clean water, thirty or forty feet square, shaded 
by three or four large elms. 

The elms of Khiva are very beautiful. I saw many of 
a size and beauty that would make the heart of the " Auto- 
crat of the Breakfast Table " leap for joy, and which were 
probably many hundred years old. Under these trees, 
during the summer, the family spend most of their time. 
Here they prepare and eat their meals ; here they while 
away their hours of idleness, of which there are a good 
many in the life of an Uzbeg, and here the women weave 
and spin the golden threads of the silkworm. The 
interior of their houses is dark and gloomy, for they are 
only lighted by small holes in the walls, window-glass 



186 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

being miknown. But they are very often fitted up witli 
a quantity of carpets, bright-coloured mats, rugs, and 
cushions, that render them very comfortable. 

We rode into the first farmhouse we came to — the gate 
was standing wide open — and found three or four men 
sitting quietly under the elms beside the little pool. 
They were a little startled at first, and came forward with 
their hats ofi", bowing very humbly. The Colonel told 
them we were in search of provisions, and required to 
know why they had ceased bringing in supplies. To this 
fchey replied, that the Khan had threatened to cut off 
their heads if they sold anything to the Eussians. The 
Colonel told them to take whatever they had to sell to the 
camp, and he would see that they were protected. They 
promised to obey, and we advanced to the next house, 
where the same scene was repeated. 

We found a few houses deserted, but we did not pillage 
them ; indeed there was nothing to pillage, even if we 
had wished to do so, as there rarely remained anything 
but the bare walls. The Cossacks meanwhile spread 
themselves about through the country on each side of 
the road for the purpose of foraging, while the infantry 
marched forward to reconnoitre. 

The country was most admirably adapted for defence ; 
and if the' Khivans had known how to avail themselves of 
its advantages, they might have made a formidable 
resistance. Every few yards there was a bridge, which 
ought to have been destroyed. Everywhere there were 
walls, hedges and ditches, clumps of trees, and houses in 
great numbers, in which masses of men might have found 
cover and protection. Our cavalry, would have been 
practically useless ; our artillery as well as breech-loaders 
reduced to equality with those of the enemy; while 



THE ENEMY IN SIGHT. 187 

their heavy brass pieces, charged to the muzzle with slugs 
and iron, would have been quite as effective at short 
range as the Kussian shells. Every house was a fortress, 
whose walls would have to be battered down and stormed, 
with loss to the Russians, and little or none to the defen- 
ders. The Eussians would, of course, have borne down all 
opposition in the end, but with loss ; and they were, after 
all, comparatively few, while the Khivans were numerous. 
And then, too, a war of this kind, carried on for a few 
days, would have so reduced the invaders, that they would 
have been unable to take advantage of their victory. 

But the Khivans showed neither inclination nor capa- 
city for self-defence, and the Eussian march was almost 
unopposed. Our little column moved forward through 
green fields of beautiful wheat, djugera, rice, and barley ; 
the road, crooked and tortuous, was lined with mulberry- 
trees, from which the soldiers plucked the ripe fruit in 
passing. Sometimes it was shut in by huge mud walls, 
over which the branches of the apricot-trees hung in rich 
profusion ; or bounded on each side by deep canals, full 
of running water, whose high banks were covered with 
verdure ; and again it led beneath giant elms, whose thick 
shade fell over us with refreshing coolness. As it rarely 
rains here, the road was very dry, and we raised clouds 
of dust which, rising high above the trees, marked our 
approach for a long distance, ominous to the Khivans of 
approaching doom. 

At length, after we had advanced about six miles, we 
began to see signs of the enemy. First we came upon 
abandoned houses in great number, whose owners had 
been forced to fly by the Khan's troops. Then a horseman 
would start out from behind a wall, and scurry off along 
the road, comet-like, leaving a train of dust after him. 



188 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

At last cavalry began to appear in numbers, and we 
caught glimpses of them through the trees, galloping 
among the gardens on either side of us. 

Our skirmish line was thrown out, and almost imme- 
diately the sharp ringing report of the rifle broke on the 
still afternoon air. The silence which had reigned until 
then was instantly disturbed. Shouts and cries were 
heard all around us, coming apparently from thousands of 
throats, and the firing on the skirmish line grew lively. 
The skirmishers dodged forward, sheltering themselves 
behind trees, walls, or whatever else they found in their 
way, and firing their pieces at every opportunity. We 
could catch glimpses of the Turcoman cavalry scurrying 
through the trees, with their tall hats and beautiful 
horses, in groups of fifteen or twenty, while the whole 
country for miles around seemed to re-echo their wild 
cries. To judge from the noise, one would have thought 
we were surrounded by thousands of the enemy. I ex- 
pected we should be fired upon from behind the walls and 
embankments ; but if they had ever had any such designs, 
they were forced to relinquish them by the skirmishers, 
and the column steadily continued its march. This 
went on for about three miles. 

At last we came upon an open space of ground, about 
half a mile wide, across which the road led on a very 
narrow causeway. Beyond were more trees, gardens, 
and houses, and there, massed to the number of several 
thousand, were the enemy, apparently waiting to give us 
battle. They were firing their falconnettes, as the 
Eussians call them — a kind of heavy matchlock. Some 
of these falconnettes were mounted on wheels, like a 
cannon, four and five together, and when fired at once 
reminded one somewhat of a mitrailleuse. They were 




VIEW IN THE OASIS. From a design by Vereshlm^ i:, 



THEY WON'T ATTACK. 189 

capable of doing considerable execution, too, at short 
range ; but were too far off now, however, to do us any 
harm. * 

Our two little pieces of artillery were brought forward, 
and commenced throwing shells. Two or three exploded 
among the Khivans, who scattered in every direction. 
Then they took shelter behind the walls, and seemed 
disposed to stand their ground, without, however, showing 
any disposition to attack. We were now very near the 
town and fortress of Hazar-Asp, but our force was too 
small to attempt an assault. The Colonel had already 
sent back word that he had engaged the enemy, and that 
he wanted reinforcements ; and he concluded to await 
orders before taking any further steps. 

The two armies, therefore, stood confronting each other 
for nearly an hour, keeping up a lively fire the while on the 
skirmish lines. I was astonished that the enemy did not 
open upon us with their artillery, as at that distance, not 
only small shot, but slugs and stones fired from their pieces 
might have proved very effective ; but either because they 
were afraid of our capturing their pieces, or because they 
had no confidence in them, they did not bring them for- 
ward. As it was now growing late in the afternoon, and 
we were some six miles from camp. Colonel Cherkovsky 
thought it prudent to retire. The Khivans were imme- 
diately after us, and followed so closely, that the rear-guard 
was kept continually engaged. Several of them were 
seen to fall, but were immediately picked up and carried 
off by their comrades. We were fired upon once from a 
house on the side of the road, and an officer was so 
severely wounded that he afterwards died — the only loss 
we sustained during the day. 

We had got about halfway back to camp, when we 



190 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

met the Grand Duke Nicholas, hurrying forward with a 
detachment to reinforce us. He expressed a good deal of 
chagrin at .finding us on the homeward march, and was 
for returning and attacking Hazar-Asp at once. He was 
dissuaded from this, however, by Colonel Cherkovsky, 
who convinced him that it was now too near night to make 
an attempt on a fortified place. 

We nevertheless galloped back again, as the Grand 
Duke wished to see the ground, and observe whether the 
enemy were still disposed to hold out. We soon came to 
the corpse of a dead Turcoman, lying beside the road. 
He had approached too near the retiring rear-guard, and 
had been shot fairly through the head. He had fallen 
apparently unnoticed by his comrades, who would other- 
wise have carried off the body, as it is considered dis- 
honourable among them to allow either killed or wounded 
to fall into the hands of their enemy. The corpse, dust- 
covered, grimy, and horrible, was lying in the mud beside 
the road. 

As it was now growing very late, we turned back once 
more, and started for camp. 

"I think," said the Grand Duke, turning to me, 
laughing, as we rode along, " I would like to forage a 
little. The orders are to bring in everything in the way 
of sheep and cattle for which there are no owners. Will 
you come along?" 

So we leaped over a canal which bordered the road, and 
commenced galloping about among the gardens, taking low 
walls and ditches at a bound, and penetrating into farm- 
yards and inclosures in search of prey. We were not very 
successful, however. There were plenty of cows, sheep, 
and even horses, but the moment we had seized any, an 
ill-advised owner put in an appearance. We, thereupon, 



FORAGING. 191 

delivered up our captured prey, giving the owners instruc- 
tions through Ak-Mamatoff to bring whatever they had to 
sell into camp, under pain of not escaping so easily next 
time. These orders were given with such a good-natured 
smile, however, by the Grand Duke, that the natives, I am 
afraid, were not very much impressed by the necessity of 
obedience. We generally found them sitting under the 
trees near the house, with their women and children — 
a little frightened and timid, but soon restored to 
confidence and composure upon seeing that we were not at 
all evilly-disposed. They offered us milk, a little fruit, or 
sometimes fresh wheaten cakes as a peace-offering, and 
seemed immensely relieved when we accepted. Once the 
Grand Duke seized the most hideously ugly donkey I 
ever saw, over which he went into ecstasies. " Quelles 
oreilles, mon Dieu ! regardez done I My arms are nothing 
to them. And his eyes ! What an expression ! It's 
enough to put us all out of countenance — the very 
impersonation of obstinacy and enUtement. He must be at 
least 500 years old. Charmant, charmani! If he only 
let us hear his voice !" and the Grand Duke was about 
handing it over to one of his followers, when, alas ! 
the inevitable owner appeared and claimed him. " G'esi 
dommage," said he, delivering him up with regret; "«Z 
etait si laid ! " 

I had just reached the road again, and was turning into 
it in the direction of the camp, when I was hailed in 
English in the following terms : — 

" I say, American, don't you want a drink of 
sherry ?" 

I looked around, and beheld a young officer holding up 
a pocket-flask to my delighted gaze. 

" Certainly," I replied. 



192 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

"It is capital sherry," he added, handing it to me. 
" I just got it from General Kaufmann." 

I tasted it, and found it to be, as he said, capital ; and we 
then rode along together towards the camp, conversing 
about the excursion of the afternoon. He had only arrived 
with the reinforcement; and as he did not know exactly what 
had happened, I related to him the incidents of the after- 
noon, in which he was deeply interested. " What a beastly 
thing it is that they wont fight a little," he said. " There 
will be no fun at all, after our long march through the desert, 
I had hoped they were going to oppose the passage of the 
river, and after the afi'air of Sheik-Arik, they might have 
given us an infinite deal of trouble ; but they let us pass 
without striking a blow. And see what a defence they 
might have made here in these gardens ; they could pick 
us off from behind every wall and canal at short range, 
where their arms would be as good as ours ; and yet 
we pass along here as safely as though we were riding 
along the Nevsky in St. Petersburg. G'est degoutant !" 

We arrived at camp at dark, and it was not until next 
day that I learned that the officer whose pocket-flask 
I so unceremoniously helped to empty was Prince Eugene 
of Leuchtenberg. I knew he was with the expedition, 
but had not yet made his acquaintance, so that I had 
entered into conversation with him without in the least 
suspecting who he was. I felt at first some em- 
barrassment, when I remembered the cool manner in 
which I had made away with his sherry, but soon 
found I had no occasion for it. Both he and the Grand 
Duke Nicholas were very simple and unassuming in their 
manners, and were on even terms of good-fellowship with 
everybody. 



ON TO HAZAR-ASP. IQg 



CHAPTER V. 

HAZAR-ASP. 

General Kauemann decided to inarch against Hazar-Asp 
next day, as a sufficient number of tlie troops had now 
passed the river. He had, besides, news from Genera] 
Verevkin, the commander of the Orenburg detachment, 
who had taken Kungrad, and was now marching upon the 
capital. 

General Kaufmann related to me a very curious anecdote 
about the way in which he received General Yerevkin's 
letter, which is very characteristic of the place and people. 
The three Kirghiz djigits or guides, to whom the letter 
had been intrusted, were captured by the troops of the 
Khan, and the letter seized, together with some Eussian 
paper money. The messengers were brought before 
the Khan, and the chief dignitaries of state, to be 
questioned. "When asked why they were going towards 
the Eussians, they replied, that they were on the way 
to Bokhara, to collect the money for sheep they had 
previously sold. But as they could give no satisfactory 
explanation of the way in which they came by the 
papers, they were thrown into prison, and a grand 
council of war was held over the captured documents. 

These nobody, of course, could read. Ho a certain 



194 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

Khivan merchant, who had been in Russia, was called 
in to see if he could give any opinion as to the contents 
of the papers. He, although unable to read, judged 
rightly that the letter was some important correspon- 
dence between the two advancing armies, and deter- 
mined to get the papers into his own hands. After 
examining them very intently for some minutes, he 
gravely assured the council that the letter was nothing 
at all — a bit of worthless paper ; but that the bank-notes 
of ten and twenty-five rubles were most important docu- 
ments, and should be carefully kept until some one could 
be found to read them. Having thus succeeded in with- 
drawing attention from the letter, he slily slipped it into 
his khalat, when nobody was watching, and made off with 
it. Before it had been missed, he had sent it with a 
trusty messenger to Grenerar Kaufmann, then crossing 
the Amu. This incident illustrates forcibly Eastern 
ignorance and cunning. Nobody but an Oriental, under 
such circumstances, would have ever thought of the 
ingenious device of making anybody believe that bank- 
notes were valuable state documents. 

"We marched next morning at sunrise for Hazar-Asp. 
Taking our way over the road we had traversed the day 
before, we soon arrived upon the scene of the previous 
day's engagement. The body of the dead Turcoman was 
still lying in the mud beside the road, where we had seen 
it yesterday. Apparently the enemy had not been h«re 
since ; they would certainly not have left the body of their 
dead comrade here without burial. When we arrived at the 
place where they had shown themselves the day before in 
such force, we found it deserted. They had retired, we sup- 
posed, into the fortress of Hazar-Asp. This fortress was 
reported as standing in the middle of a large pond ; 



WITHOUT A BLOW. 



195 



as having only one gate, and as very strong. It was 
thought the enemy would make a. stand here, if they 
meant to light at all. 




IRRIGATION WHEEL. 



We had reached about halfway, when we met two 
ambassadors coming to meet us. They were very humble 
m their demeanour, dismounted from their richly- 
caparisoned horses, and took off their hats as they met the 
advance-guard. They were sent on to General Golovatchoff, 
who heard what they had to say, and in his turn sent 
them to Kaufmann, but continued the march. They had 



196 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

been despatched by the G-overnor of Hazar-Asp, Said 
Emir Ul-Umar, an uncle of the Khan's, to ojBfer their 
submission, and surrender the fortress. The Governor 
himself had gone to Khiva. Their submission was ac- 
cepted ; but Kaufmann, accustomed to all the tricks and 
wiles of Central Asian warfare, nevertheless omitted no 
precaution to prevent a surprise. 

The morning was bright and warm ; the orchards and 
gardens through which we were passing green and 
fragrant with the odour of many blossoms, and the march 
seemed more like a holiday excursion or picnic than the 
iron tread of grim-visaged war. Some of the houses 
along the road we found abandoned; but at others the 
inhabitants were quietly sitting on the ground before 
their doors, and rose and bowed to us gravely as we 
passed. 

About ten o'clock we came in sight of the fortress,, 
which, as seen through the trees at a distance, with 
its high battlemented walls and buttresses, crooked and 
irregular, and the water that surrounded it, presented 
a noble appearance, not unlike that of Windsor Castle. 
We halted a few minutes, as some men were seen on 
the walls; and, in spite of the fortress having already 
been surrendered, Greneral Kaufmann was not sure 
that there- was not some mischief preparing. The 
proper dispositions having been taken, the army again 
moved forward, and entered a long, narrow, covered 
street, with a single line of houses or shops on each 
side, which, leading over the water, served as a kind 
of causeway and entrance to the fortress. We filed 
through this crooked, irregular street, not without some 
apprehensions of an ambuscade ; and making two or 
three short turns to the right and left, found ourselves 



INSIDE THE FORTRESS. • 197 

in front of the main entrance. It was a heavy, massive, 
arched gateway, with flanking towers, built of brick, and 
plastered over with mud. The gates were pierced in one 
or two places with holes, evidently made by cannon-balls 
in some old siege. 

Kaufmann rode in, followed by his staff, and a couple of 
companies of infantry ; made the circuit of the inside of 
the fortress ; and, winding about through several very nar- 
row, crooked streets, at last dismounted in a small court. 
Entering by a succession of small, dark corridors and 
rooms, we found ourselves in the principal court of the 
palace of Hazar-Asp. It was only about thirty by fifty 
feet, and the southern side was entirely taken up by the 
great hall of state, which is simply a high portico, open- 
ing into the court towards the north. Aroun(i this court 
were disposed the different rooms of the palace, the harem, 
and stables. Here General Kaufmann received the chief 
dignitaries and mullahs of the place, who came to treat 
with him. He told them that if they quietly submitted, 
without resistance, their lives, property, and women would 
be respected ; that he had not come to conquer Khiva, but 
only to punish the Khan. They received these communi- 
cations with every mark of satisfaction, and then withdrew. 

Thus Hazar-Asp, really a stronger place than Khiva, 
surrendered without striking a blow. Most of the officers, 
and the Grand Duke especially, were dissatisfied with 
this result, but they consoled themselves with the hope 
that a desperate resistance would be made at Khiva. 

Hazar-Asp is a place of about 5000 inhabitants. It is 

a mud-built town, entirely encompassed by the walls of 

the fortress, a rectangular structure, inclosing about 

three acres, to which a kind of addition or wing has been 

built. The fortress is nearly surrounded by a wide 

15 



198 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

but shallow pond, and is about ten miles from the 
river, and forty from Khiva. It is regarded as a place 
of great importance in the Khanate, The inhabitants 
were very timid at first, and did not feel at all sure 
they were not to be massacred on the spot. They soon 
regained confidence, however, and in the coarse of the 
day the bazaar was opened. Many of the surrounding 
Uzbegs, supposing probably that the place would be 
defended, had assembled within the walls, with their 
goods and chattels; they now returned to their houses 
in the environs. The houses in the town were poor and 
miserable, and displayed far less pretentions than the 
heavy, roomy country houses of the Uzbegs. 

Five or six cannons were found, probably the same 
that had been engaged in the affair of Sheik-Arik, to- 
gether with a number of falconnettes, and a large quantity 
of very good powder, which was left lying around in a 
very careless manner. 

After resting a couple of hours, Kaufmann left a small 
garrison here, under command of Colonel Ivanoff, who with 
Colonel Weimarn, had arrived the day before from Khala- 
ata ; and then returned about halfway back to the river, 
and camped in the gardens. His intention was to wait 
for the whole detachment to come up before making the 
final attack upon Khiva. 

Our camp here was pleasant enough, situated in the 
gardens, and among the fruit-trees and the elms, with 
streams of fresh water all around us ; we considered 
ourselves in a veritable paradise. 

The houses in the immediate vicinity of the camp 
were all abandoned, and we found nothing in them in the 
way of household goods, but a few cooking utensils and 
earthen jars. In nearly every one, however, was a room 



A KHIVAN PLAINTIFF. 199 

or two full of silkworms; many thousand of the little 
spinners, I am afraid, were starved to death, as there was 
nobody to feed them. 

One day I mounted my horse and rode to Hazar-Asp, 
where I was hospitably entertained by Colonel Ivanoff. 
While taking dinner with the Colonel, an orderly came in, 
and informed him that a woman was waiting outside, 
asking permission to lay a complaint before him. 

The Colonel turned to me and said, " Come along now, 
and you will see something curious." 

As the regular course of justice had been interrupted 
by the flight of the Governor, the people of Hazar-Asp, it 
seemed, came to Colonel Ivanoff, who was then the supreme 
power, to have their wrongs redressed, and their quarrels 
settled. So we now went out into the great porch, which 
I have spoken of as the hall of state, or audience chamber. 
Here we sat down on a piece of carpet, and the Colonel 
put on a grave face, as befitted a magistrate in the 
administration of justice. The woman was now led into 
the court, which was some three feet lower than the 
floor of the porch on which we were seated. She came 
in, leading a lubberly-looking young man about fourteen, 
and bowing almost to the earth at every step, and 
addressed the Colonel, whom she took for General 
Kaufmann, as the " Yarim-Padshah," or half-emperor, 
which title the Colonel accepted with grave composure. 
She was an old woman, and was clad in the long dirty- 
looking tunic of the Khivans. The only article of dress 
that distinguished her from a man was the tall white 
turban worn by all the Khivan women. She brought in 
a little present of bread and apricots, which she handed to 
the Colonel with many profound bows, and then proceeded 
to state her case. 



200 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

" Her son," slie said, pointing to tte gawky boy who 
accompanied her, " had been robbed of his affianced 
wife." 

" By whom ?" asks the Colonel. 

" By a vile thieving dog of a Persian slave. My own 
slave, too ; he stole my donkey, and carried the girl off on 
it ; may the curse of the Prophet wither him." 

"So then he is three times a thief. He stole the 
donkey, the girl, and himself," said the Colonel, sum- 
ming the matter up in a judicial way. " But how did he 
steal the girl ? Did he take her by force ?" 

" Of course ; was she not my son's wife ? How could a 
girl run away from her affianced husband with a dog of 
an infidel slave, except by force ?" 

" Who is she ? How did she become affianced to your 
son ?" 

" She is a Persian girl. I bought her from a Turcoman • 
who had just brought her from Astrabad, and I paid fifty 
tillahs for her. The dog of a slave must have bewitched 
her, for as soon as she saw him she flew into his arms, 
weeping and crying, and said, 'he was her old playmate.' 
That was nonsense, and I beat her for it soundly. The 
marriage was to be celebrated in a few days ; but as soon 
as the Eussians came, the vile hussy persuaded the slave 
to run away with her, and I believe they are as good 
as married." 

" Well, what do you want me to do about it ?" 

" I want you to give back my son's wife, and my donkey, 
and my slave." 

The Colonel told her, with a smile, that he would see 
about it, and motioned her to retire from the presence. 
She withdrew, walking backwards, and bowing to the 
ground at every step, in the most approved and courtier- 



BEGGING FOE MERCY. 201 

like manner. Evidently it was not tlie first time she had 
pleaded her own cause. 

But her son never got back his wife, nor she her slave 
or donkey. 

During the three days we lay encamped at Hazar-Asp, 
Kaufmann was busily engaged in collecting horses and 
carts for transport, in the stead of the camels sent 
back for the troops left at Khala-ata and Alti-Kuduk. 
By this time the whole of the detachment had arrived; 
news had been received from General Verevkin, who had 
already taken Kungrad, and was rapidly advancing upon 
the capital. 

We broke up camp on the morning of the 8th of June, 
and the evening of the 9th had reached a point about ten 
miles from Khiva. All the way, the people came out 
to meet us in groups of twenty and thirty, tendering 
"Kaufmann their submission, and making him peace- 
offerings of bread, apricots, and sometimes a lamb or a 
sheep. 

Kaufmann had not been all this time without news of 
the Khan. Three or four times since reaching the river he 
had received messages and letters, in which the Khan pro- 
fessed the greatest astonishment to hear that the Russians 
were invading his domains. He furthermore required to 
know the meaning of these proceedings, and requested 
the invaders to withdraw immediately. 

We had just camped on the evening of the 9th, when 
Kaufmann received a last letter from the trembling 
potentate, in which, humbly proffering his submission, he 
professed his readiness to surrender at discretion, and to 
throw himself on Kaufmann's , mercy. I must now go 
back a little to explain the events, which had brought 
the Khan to this humble frame of mind. 



202 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 



CHAPTEE YI. 

THE ORENBURG AND KINDERLY DETACHMENTS. 

Although the campaign against Khiva was not decided 
upon in St. Petersburg until towards the end of Decem- 
ber, General Kaufmann had really been two years pre- 
paring for it ; and when he went to St. Petersburg to 
obtain permission of the Emperor to attack the Khanate, 
everything was ready in Turkistan for the instant opening 
of the campaign. 

But there were several aspirants to the honour of con- 
quering the one little spot in Central Asia that had 
successfully defied the Eussian arms ever since the time of 
Peter the Grreat. And as the difficulties of the campaign 
were considered very great, nobody being able to say to a 
certainty which route offered the most chance of success, 
the Emperor decided to send four expeditions, in order to 
insure against failure. One was to start from the Cau- 
casus, under Colonel Markosoflf; another from Orenburg, 
the direction of which was to be left to General Krysa- 
novsky, the governor of the department, who confided 
the expedition to General Verevkin ; one from Kinderly 
Bay, under Colonel Lamakin; as well as the one from 
Turkistan, prepared by General Kaufmann himself. 

As Markosofi's expedition never reached Khiva at all, I 



MARKOSOFF'S DISASTER. 203 

will dismiss it at once with a very few words. The base 
of operations was Chikishlar, in the Valley of the Attrek ; 
and not Krasnovodsk, as originally intended. This line 
was chosen on the supposition that camels could be more 
easily obtained ; but the change proved disastrous to the 
expedition, on account of the great increase to the length 
of route. By the time the column reached the well of 
Bala-Ishem, the troops were suffering fearfully. The heat 
was terrible— as much, it is said, as 149^ Fahrenheit ; the 
wells few, and the men almost dying of thirst. The 
camels and horses were completely exhausted by the long 
and rapid march, and began to die by the hundred. They 
were still 120 miles distant from Khiva; and this was 
the severest part of the route. There were but few wells 
on the way ; and the camels were utterly unable to carry 
sufficient water for the troops. So on the 4th of May, 
just when Kaufmann was at Khala-ata, and Verevkin had 
reached the western shores of the Aral Sea, Colonel 
Markosoff found himself compelled to retreat. 

An account of the Orenburg and Kinderly expeditions 
will come in the more fitly here, because, as will afterwards 
be seen, it was they who did the greater part of the 
fighting, and it was by them Khiva was really taken. To 
the presence of these columns in his territory is also to be 
attributed the fact that the Khan made so slight a re- 
sistance to the advance of Kaufmann. 

These detachments had already arrived before the walls 
of Khiva, while Kaufmann was still some ten miles distant ; 
and it is not the least remarkable part of this remarkable 
campaign, that four different columns, starting from as 
many different points of the compass, more than a thousand 
miles apart, should, nevertheless, have arrived before Khiva 
within a day of each other. 



204 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

The facts relating to these expeditions I have ob- 
tp-ined from different sources; partly from Lieutenant 
Count Shuvaloff, who commanded a company in Greneral 
Verevkin's detachment, and who was deputed by that 
officer to give me the necessary information ; partly from 
Colonels Skobeloff and Lamakin ; and, finally, from 
Lieutenant Stumm, a German officer, who accompanied 
in the first instance the Kinderly, and afterwards the 
united Kinderly and Orenburg columns, and who was 
the only foreigner beside myself that succeeded in reach- 
ing Khiva. Lieutenant Stumm has since published his 
experiences in an accurate and highly-interesting work, 
which has been of considerable assistance to me. 

General Krysanovsky, the governor of Orenburg, only 
received the order to organise the Orenburg expedition 
during the first days of January; and the fact that 
everything was ready — transport, armaments, forage, pro- 
visions, tents, and clothing for the coldest of winters, and 
a march of 1100 miles through an entirely unknown 
country — by the 27th of February, shows with what ra- 
pidity the Kussians can prepare for war when occasion 
requires. 

The troops of this detachment were assembled at three 
different points, Orenburg, Uralsk, and Orsk, and com- 
menced the march about the 27th of February, to unite 
at the fort on the Emba river. This is the Eussian 
advance post in the Kirghiz steppes, and is a distance of 
about 400 miles from the different points mentioned. 

The difficulties and hardships of this march were ter- 
rible ; the cold attained a severity of 25° Eeaumur ; and 
the troops were harassed by storms such as are only 
known on these open level plains, where the wind finds 
not so much as a stone to obstruct its passage for hundreds 



veeEvkin starts. 205 

of miles, and by the snow, which very often reached a 
depth of ten feet. 

In spite of all these difficulties, which would appear 
insurmountable to any other troops but Eussians, the 
three detachments formed their junction towards the last 
of March at the fort of the Emba, with transport, muni- 
tions, and provisions. This was not accomplished without 
the proper precautions having been taken. The soldiers 
were provided with furs, and heavy furred boots ; felt 
tents, or kibitkas, had been placed along the road at 
intervals of a day's march ; wood for fires, and hay for the 
horses and camels had been collected ; and every pre- 
caution which experience had taught them had been taken 
to avoid a similar disaster to that which befel Perovsky in 
1840. The result was that the detachment arrived at 
Emba without the loss of a single man, although, owing 
to the extreme cold, this was the most difficult part of the 
whole march. There were thus assembled at Emba nine 
companies of infantry, about 1600 men ; nine sotnias of 
Cossacks, 1200 men ; together with eight pieces of flying 
artillery, a battery of rockets, and four mortars, provided 
with three times the ordinary supply of ammunition. 
The train consisted of 5000 camels, collected among the 
Kirghiz, at a hire of £3 a month for the winter months, 
and £2 8s. for the summer. The soldiers only received 
their ordinary rations ; two pounds of black bread and 
half a pound of meat a day, tea and sugar morning and 
evening, two glasses of vodka a week, besides vegetables, 
cheese, vinegar, and other things of antiscorbutic nature. 
Supplies were taken for two months and a half, and felt 
tents, each affording room for twenty men, were provided 
for the whole detachment. 

On the 7th of April the column left the Emba, marching 



206 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

southward, and struck the Aral Sea on the 2nd of May, 
after a march of twenty days, and continued its course 
along the western shore to the Gulf of Aibugir on the 
south. The Gulf of Aibugir, marked on all the maps, 
and which did really exist fifteen years ago, Yerevkin 
found perfectly dry. The Kara-Kalpaks had even com- 
menced to cultivate its ancient bed. The march of 
Verevkin was very remarkable, in being one of the longest 
probably ever recorded in history — over 1000 miles. 

He arrived at Yani-Kola, in the Khanate of Khiva, on 
the 14th of May, while General Kaufmann was still at 
Alti-Kuduk, on the other side of the river, with the most 
difficult part of the way before him. 

On the 1st of June Yerevkin entered Kungrad, which 
the Khivans had already abandoned. 

The march of the Kinderly detachment was likewise one 
of the most remarkable ever made by any army in any time. 
The distance was great ; the road lay through a desolate 
desert, in which there was scarcely a well ; and the 
means of transport were utterly disproportionate. And, 
by a strange want of foresight, but few skins, or vessels 
of any other kind, had been provided for carrying 
water. 

This column was intended to meet the column from 
Orenburg at Lake Aibugir. The Orenburg detachment 
had already started fourteen days when the Kinderly 
column begun its march. Colonel Lamakin, the com- 
mander, was assisted by Lieut.-Colonel Pajarofi", Captain 
Ali-Khan, who had volunteered for the expedition, Lieut.- 
Colonel Skobeloff, Major Navrodski, and several other 
officers. This force was composed of twelve companies 
of infantry, one sotnia of 150 Cossacks, and two sotnias 
of the mountaineers of the Caucasus, each containing 120 



LAMAKIN STAETS. 207 

men — in all about 1800 men. There were ten cannons, 
and a battery of rockets. 

It was calculated that 1300 camels would be required ; 
but the number obtained was far below this. The Kirghiz 
of Mangischlak refused to supply the 600 required of them, 
and Major Navrodski had to be despatched to seize them. 
After a pursuit of some days and a small skirmish, the 
Major succeeded in capturing 380 camels, 110 horses, and 
about 3000 sheep and goats. Thus, with a very small 
supply of camels, with many even of this supply daily 
dying, the journey through the waterless desert seemed a 
journey to certain destruction. 

During the first five days of the march, the troops had 
a foretaste of the horrors of the desert. The heat was 
excessive, and the sand blinding and scorching. The 
wind, instead of alleviating the heat, only added to it, for 
it came against the face like a blast from a furnace. From 
such an enemy the soldier had no protection ; the sand 
and heat penetrated through the tents. Want of water 
soon began to be felt. The few wells that were found on 
the way were brackish, muddy, and full of insects. The 
soldiers bore all these hardships with cheerfulness ; and 
although the camels and horses died by the hundred, the 
health of the men remained good. 

Kaundy was the first place where a halt of any length 
was made, and this was reached by the advance on the 
26th April. The journey from this to Senek, a distance 
of sixty miles, tried the soldiers greatly ; for the heat was 
terrible; there was scarcely any water, and the men 
eagerly drank a few drops, black as ink, nauseous and 
stinking. Sickness began to attack the column, princi- 
pally the infantry. The cavalry gave up their horses to the 
invalids ; and a worn-out Cossack had occasionally to lead 



208 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

his worn-out horse, burdened witli a sick foot-soldier. In 
one afternoon, and in one company, no less than 150 
camels either died or became incapable of proceeding 
farther. Sunstroke, dysentery, and general debility were 
the principal forms of illness. Fever was so common that 
it was scarcely minded. Some of the officers on the staff 
had gone through three or four attacks in the march from 
Kinderly to Senek. 

On May 2nd, Bish-Akti was reached. This station is 
about ninety miles from the Caspian Sea, and is situated 
in the midst of a sandy desert, and surrounded by low 
limestone hills. It has six wells. A small fort was built 
here, being so constructed that it included the wells 
within it. 

The journey from Bish-Akti to the second fort at Ilte- 
Idshe, and, indeed, all the way to Kungrad, was rendered 
extremely difficult by the sand and wind. At one time 
there was almost a hurricane, so that the tents could 
not be raised at night. The order of march was as follows : 
a sotnia of Cossacks formed the advance-guard, and on 
each side, at a distance of about 3000 feet, there was a 
patrol of two horses. Then came the staff, with an escort 
of a company of cavalry, four horses acting as a patrol on 
either side. A sotnia followed, also protected by flanking 
patrols. The rear was protected by a company of in- 
fantry, under whose charge were twenty camels loaded 
with the forage for the horses of the staff. The main 
body of the army followed at some distance behind. In 
this way from twenty to thirty miles were travelled 
daily. The march used to begin at five or six o'clock 
in the morning, and was continued until noon. From 
twelve till three there was a halt ; for during that 
time the heat was so great that it was impossible to 



WILL THE COLUMN PERISH? 209 

attempt any movement, even tlie erection of a tent. At 
three the march was resumed, and was continued to ten or 
eleven, or sometimes even two o'clock in the morning. The 
horses were fed and watered once a day ; sometimes they 
had to remain even thirty hours without water. 

The 9 th and 10 th of May were days of terrihle suf- 
fering. It seemed almost as if the whole column were 
about to die of thirst. The well of Kol-Kinir, at which it 
arrived on the evening of the 9th, was so deep that water 
could only be obtained very slowly, and thus but a small 
portion of the detachment could be supplied. It was now 
evening, and the troops had had no water since mid-day ; 
nor was any to be obtained until they reached Alpai-Mass, 
a distance of thirty-five miles. On the evening of the 9th 
and the morning of the 10th, both the soldiers and the 
beasts had to remain without water. Under these circum- 
stances the march to Alpai-Mass began. By mid-day of 
the 10th, when the heat was most violent, the horses 
commenced to sink, their riders hung on to them help- 
lessly, and even the officers of the staff were losing 
hope ; for Alpai-Mass was still about fifteen miles distant 
— that was, a march of four hours. 

Colonel Lamakin ordered a halt, and everybody, even 
the officers with their horses, sank down helplessly into 
the burning sand. Not a drop of water was left in the 
column ; round about, as far as the eye could reach, there 
was nothing but the white sand. Lieutenant Stumm, in 
describing the scene to me, said that at this moment his 
senses were beginning to reel and the fever to mount to 
his brain. While all were still in this miserable condition, 
two wild forms were suddenly seen on a sand-hill far away 
in the distance. Colonel Lamakin had found a dried-up 
channel, and sent forward two Kirghiz, who discovered a 



210 CAMPAIGNINa ON THE OXDS. 

small well — the Kuruk — at tlie distance of about a mile 
to the north. 

Just as the men, with the staff, had refreshed them- 
selves, news came that the portion of the troops 
which had been left behind under Lieutenant Grrodikoff, 
three miles and a half from Ilte-Idshe, were unable to 
proceed any farther, and were now lying exhausted 
on the sand. At once every animal which could be 
ridden was sent back, with every and any sort of vessel 
that would hold water ; and it was only after the troops 
had been thus relieved that they were able to resume 
their march, after a narrow escape from death. 

About one o'clock on the night of the 14th the well of 
Kyzil-Agir was reached, and as it was expected the troops 
would come to Bei-Shagir the next day, and would thus 
be quite close to the frontiers of Khiva, a council of war 
was held. It was agreed that the advance-guard, under 
Skobeloff, should go forward to Lake Aibugir ; but as 
General Yerevkin could scarcely reach that place before 
five or six days, a reconnoitring diversion was to be made 
towards the south as far as Kuna-Urgench, which town 
was, if necessary, to be taken. In the meantime the 
main body would remain at Lake Aibugir until the 
General arrived. 

On the 16th news came from General Verevkin which 
modified this plan. The General's messengers stated that 
fifteen days before he was but two marches from Lake 
Aibugir, and that he hoped on the 18th of May to reach 
Urga, on the Aral Sea. Colonel Lamakin was ordered 
to proceed, not in a southerly direction towards Lake 
Aibugir, but towards the north, so as to meet Yerevkin 
in Urga. The two columns would proceed together thence 
through Lake Aibugir to the fortified town of Kungrad. 



NO FOOD, NO WATEE. 211 

On receipt of these orders, Colonel Lamakin sent mes- 
sengers to recall Skobeloff. He, however, received the 
message too late, for, on the 17th, he had had an en- 
gagement with a considerable body of Turcomans, who 
were on their way to Khiva with a large caravan. In 
the attack which ensued several were killed, fifteen 
were taken prisoners, and 150 camels, with a large 
amount of provisions, were captured. Skobeloff, how- 
ever, with another officer, and several of the Cossacks, 
were wounded. 

The column was now marching northerly towards Urga ; 
but on the 7th another message came from Yerevkin, with 
the news that the General had already left the place, and 
was on his way to Kungrad, whither Lamakin was to 
follow. Thus once again the line of march was completely 
changed. Colonel Lamakin now came to the conclusion 
that, if he were to bring any assistance to the General 
before meeting the enemy, he should march very rapidly. 
He resolved, therefore, to go forward with the staff and 
the cavalry only, leaving the main body to follow under 
Pajaroff, and to make straight for Kungrad by forced 
marches, whether there were wells or no wells on the 
way. 

The three days' march that followed were the severest 
the expedition passed through. There was no water the 
whole time, the only well on the road having been poisoned 
by the Turcomans, who threw the corpses of putrefying 
animals into it. On the night of the 22nd, an attempt was 
made to continue the march, so as to arrive at Kungrad a 
day earlier. But so dense was the darkness, that the troops, 
in spite of a number of torches, were continually going 
astray. So the army had to halt, and pass the night, 
without food, without water, in the middle of the desert. 



212 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

On tlie morning of tlie 23rd of May tlie bed of the 
Aibugir was reached ; and during the course of this day the 
first kibitkas of the Kungrad Kirghiz were met, and the 
Khivan territory for the first time entered. The morning 
of the 24th of May was a joyful one, for on that morning 
flowery meadows, green pasture lands, and flowing and 
really fresh water were met with for the first time for two 
months. 

The same day they reached Kungrad, which they found 
occupied by a strong body of Cossacks. These had been 
left behind by General Yerevkin, who had the day before 
taken up his march for the capital. 

Both town and fortress were in the greatest state of 
decay and desolation, caused by the continual wars of 
rival Khans, and especially by a siege sustained some 
fifteen years ago, when the town was in rebellion against 
Khiva. Kungrad has several times had a Khan of its 
own, and more than once dictated laws to Khiva. It is 
now, however, almost depopulated, and will probably never 
again lift its head in defiance of its victorious neighbour. 

Up to this point neither General Yerevkin nor Colonel 
Lamakin had met any formidable resistance from the 
Khivans. They had shown themselves several times, but 
had never ofiered any serious opposition. They had simply 
contented themselves with sending more or less insolent 
messages, requesting the Russians to return to their 
homes at their earliest convenience, under pain of the 
extreme displeasure of the Khan. General Yerevkin 
generally sent the messenger back without an answer. 
There was one of these messages so curious and so illustra- 
tive of the extreme naivete of the Khivans, that it deserves 
especial notice. The day before Yerevkin entered Kun- 
grad, he received a message from the governor, with the 



THE COLUMNS UNITF,. 213 

very extraordinary request that the Eussians should wait 
three days until his cannon could arrive ; he would then 
be ready to give them battle. But if they blindly per- 
sisted in pushing forward before he was ready to meet 
them, he would simply refuse to fight ! As the Eussians 
blindly persisted, he was as good as his word, and 
abandoned Kungrad without striking a blow. 

Soon after leaving Kungrad, however, the Turcomans 
commenced showing themselves in considerable numbers ; 
and from this time forward, not a day passed without a 
skirmish, nor a night without an alarm. Sometimes they 
hung on the flanks of the army all day, uttering their 
wild cries, making feigned and real attacks on the train, 
firing from behind walls and trees, sometimes on the rear- 
guard, sometimes on the advance-guard, and harassing the 
troops from morning until night, and from dark until 
daylight. 

The continual night alarms were especially harassing, 
for they kept the troops always on the alert, and prevented 
them from getting any rest. These night attacks I after- 
wards found in the campaign against the Turcomans to be 
something terrible, and their horror can only be under- 
stood by those who have experienced them. 

About two o'clock the cavalry went on from Kungrad 
towards the south, and at last at nine o'clock on tho same 
evening, after an uninterrupted march, reached General 
Verevkin's column. The staff had thus marched con- 
tinually, without feeding or watering the horses, without 
halting or resting the men, and under a scorching sun, 
from five o'clock in the morning till nine in the evening. 
Meantime the main body of the expedition, consisting 
almost entirely of infantry, under the command of Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel Pajaroff, had followed the staff and the 

16 



214 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

cavalry, enduring privations as great, if not greater, with 
the same heroic patience. Pajaroff divided his troops into 
two bodies, one of whom, under Major Avarsky, followed 
the same route as the staff. Pajaroff himself, after a day's 
rest at the well of Alan, started thence on the 20th of May, 
at two o'clock in the morning. For the first day his 
troops had nothing but brackish water, almost undrinkable. 
On the second day, the wells being poisoned by the 
corpses of animals, he had to rely on the very small 
quantity of water he had been able to carry along in 
vessels. At two o'clock on the morning of the 22nd he 
started from Kara-Kuduk, arriving at seven o'clock in 
the evening of the same day at the west shore of Lake 
Aibugir. During this journey of thirty miles he did not 
find a single well. 

At two o'clock on the morning of the 23rd he started 
from Aibugir, reaching Irali-Kotchkan at three o'clock 
in the afternoon. During this march also, which was 
twenty-one miles in length, he found no well, and thus the 
troops travelled about fifty miles in thirty-seven hours, 
absolutely without water the whole time. The supply of 
water which he was able to bring along in vessels seems 
to have been wholly exhausted during the first two out of 
the five days of the march. Even during these two days 
the quantity of water was ridiculously out of proportion 
to the wants of the soldiers, and yet the infantry had 
heroism enough to give some of their water to the 
artillery. 

This is one of the most remarkable marches on record 



A TEAR 215 



CHAPTEE Yn. 

THE MARCH OF THE UNITED COLUMNS. 

While the events I have just related were transpiring, 
Captain Sitnikoff— the Admiral of the Aral fleet, whoso 
narne probably has not been forgotten by the reader- 
was sent from Kazala with a flotilla down the Aral 
Sea to the mouth of the Oxus. He was to ascend the 
river as far as it was possible and co-operate with 
the land forces as occasion might require. 

In the beginning of May, the flotilla attacked and 
destroyed a well-fortified Khivan fort, called the Ak-Kala, 
on a branch of the Oxus called the Ulkun-Darya, with a 
loss of four killed and three or four wounded. Sub- 
sequently it went forty miles up the Amu. Here a 
Khirgiz came and informed Sitnikoff that he had seen 
General Yerevkin's detachment and was willing to act 
as guide, in case Sitnikoff wished to communicate with 
him. One officer and eleven sailors were despatched to 
the General with letters, the Kirghiz acting as guide. 

On the morning of the 17th, the troops of General 
Yerevkin found, near the town of Kungrad, the corpses 
of these twelve Eussian marines, without clothes and 
arms, and with their heads cut off. The Kirghiz mes- 
senger had been an agent of the enemy, and had probably 



216 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

decoyed the Eussians into an ambuscade. Here ends the 
history of the operations of the flotilla during the cam- 
paign. Owing to obstructions placed in the river by the 
Khivans, it was unable to ascend high enough to render 
any assistance to the land forces. 

On the 24th of May, the united columns of General 
Verevkin and Colonel Lamakin took up their march. By 
this time Greneral Kaufmann had reached Uch-Uchak. 

At five o'clock on the morning of the 26th the troops had 
arrived at Kara-Baili, and at about twelve, a halt was made 
by the side of a small river ; and here it was intended to 
make a two hours' stay for breakfast. Scarcely, however, 
had the troops stopped, when several shots were heard in 
the distance. Shortly afterwards a Cossack brought the 
news that an officer, who had gone forward with an escort 
of eight or ten Cossacks for the purpose of reconnoitring, 
had been attacked by a largely superior number of the 
enemy. Two sotnias of cavalry immediately rushed for- 
ward ; but the Turcomans had already disappeared, having 
captured several horses, killed one Cossack, and wounded 
several others. Quick as had been their flight, they had 
found time to cut ofi" the head of the Cossack whom they 
had killed. The cavalry pressed forward at full gallop 
for about half an hour, but no sign of the enemy was to 
be seen. Just as they returned, shots were heard on the 
flank of the column, where the enemy, whom they had 
just endeavoured in vain to catch, had now made an attack. 
Here, too, the enemy had succeeded in killing two camels 
and two men. The chase was renewed. This time 
the enemy collected themselves in a body, and were 
awaiting an attack. Several horses were taken, some pri- 
soners made, and many of the Turcomans killed or 
wounded. One of the wounded Turcomans, who had re- 



DETEKMINED TO EESIST. 217 

ceived no less tJian five shots in tlie hip, and who bore 
his sufferings with the most wonderful fortitude, was in- 
duced, after much persuasion, to give some information. 
From him it was learned that a body of Turcomans, 400 or 
500 strong, was around the army — a detachment from a 
force of 6000, mostly cavalry, which the Khan had sent 
forward, under the command of his brother, to defend the 
town of Khojali. This force was awaiting an attack 
before the town, and the Khan was resolved to defend 
himself to the last extremity. 

Shortly afterwards the enemy appeared in force. At 
first it looked as if they were about to attack, but after- 
wards they halted, apparently awaiting an assault. The 
cavalry were sent forward with a rocket battery, and 
having fired some shots, the enemy retired. 

After an hour or so they again appeared in force, but 
after they had advanced within 2000 or 3000 feet of the 
Eussians, they halted, and began to retire slowly on 
Khojali. A few grenades hurried their retreat, and soon 
they entirely disappeared, with the exception of some 
scouts. 

The advance on the town was then commenced. For a 
while the enemy continued to ride before the troops, 
sometimes coming up quite close, but soon they disap- 
peared behind the gardens of the town, and then were seen 
no more. 

"When the army had approached within 500 yards of 
the gate of the city, a numerous deputation of the 
elders of the place came out and, promising submis- 
sion, begged for mercy. They at the same time gave 
up a Kirghiz,, whom the General had a month before sent 
with despatches to Kaufmann, and who had been taken by 
the Khan and imprisoned. 



218 OAMPAIGNINa ON THE OXUS. 

The troops remained for two days before the town, 
during which time their intercourse with the inhabitants 
was quite friendly. On the second day all the shops and 
the bazaar were opened, and trade with the soldiers in 
full swing. 

Having resumed their march, the troops, on the 31st 
of May, saw for the first time the waters of the Amu- 
Darya. 

On the morning of the 28th, a few shots that were 
fired by the Khivans proved the prelude of a general 
engagement. 

The enemy was found assembled in force in a plain 
covered with reeds and tall grass. They had taken 
position on a number of sand-hills before the town of 
Manghit, towards which the Eussian troops were ad- 
vancing. The moment the Khivans caught sight of the 
army, their hosts of cavalry rushed upon them with wild 
cries. Spreading themselves out into a line seven or 
eight miles long, they attacked the Eussians on all 
sides, but directed their principal efibrts against the 
train of camels in the rear. 

General Yerevkin, who occupied the centre, brought 
four cannons to bear upon the enemy, and sent three 
others to the left flank. Nevertheless, the enemy con- 
tinued to attack desperately, time after time, the cavalry, 
^ and at one moment actually approached within 200 yards 

of the staff of G-eneral Yerevkin himself. 

The cavalry on the right flank, under Colonel Leoncheff, 
was at one time very hard pressed, nor could it succeed in 
keeping back the advance of the enemy. Sweeping past 
him, they attacked the rear-guard, which they expected 
to find weak, imagining that all the cannon were at the 
head of the column. The vigorous resistance which they 



THE ENEMY DISHEARTENED. 219 

met there thoroughly took them by surprise, and their 
confusion was increased by seeing the main part of 
their own forces retreat over the heights of Manghit. 
After doing as much injury as they could to the camels, 
they, in their turn, followed their companions in flight. 

Soon again the enemy renewed the attack. They 
followed the same tactics as before, but soon had to 
retreat before the well-directed fire of the artillery 
and the advance in force of the cavalry. They retired 
behind the town of Manghit, and then wholly dis- 
appeared. The troops then advanced and burnt the 
village just occupied by the enemy. After a short 
halt, the army advanced at three o'clock to the town 
and immediately occupied it. As they marched through, 
some of the enemy, who had taken refuge in the 
houses, fired on the troops ; enraged by this, the soldiers 
reduced the town to ashes and slaughtered every man,, 
woman, or child they could lay hands on. The losses on 
the Eussian side on this day were one captain and eight 
men killed, about ten men severely and several slightly 
wounded. 

The losses of the enemy must have been very large, 
and from this time forth they seemed to have lost 
all hope. Their resistance became feeble, and their 
operations, losing all unity of plan, degenerated into a 
mere guerilla warfare. If the Khivans had only properly 
understood their own advantages, they might have, with 
little trouble and no cost, placed insurmountable obstacles 
to the march of the Eussians on their capital — possibly 
they might have even blocked up the road to Khiva. 
They could have destroyed all the bridges; and the 
column, which carried with it only a bridge with at 
most a span of forty yards, would have been unable to. 



220 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

cross the canals, which were often forty to a hundred feet 
broad, and were for the most part very deep and swift. 
Hitherto, however, the troops everywhere found the bridges 
untouched, and so strong that it only required a few 
trunks of trees to make them fit for bearing heavy 
cannons. Now, however, the enemy for the first time 
resorted to the plan of burning the bridges. At first 
they caused much embarrassment to the advancing 
Eussians, but after a while the cavalry, who now always 
were sent forward, succeeded in reaching the bridges just 
after they had been set on fire, and immediately put out 
the flames. 

During the next few days several skirmishes took place, 
the enemy as usual attacking the rear, where the camels 
and forage waggons were. 

The army continued its march through an extremely 
fertile country. One day, while the troops were passing 
through a network of thickly-grown gardens, mud build- 
ings, and countless streams and canals, they were suddenly 
attacked from all sides. Their position, in the midst of a 
thickly-built Uzbeg village, was at first very critical. But 
after several mud walls had been knocked down, the in- 
fantry were able to get some cannon into position, and the 
enemy were defeated with great loss. The Eussians only 
had one non-commissioned officer and one man severely 
and three men slightly wounded. 

As the troops went on, the inhabitants came out from 
several villages, often with bleeding heads. Their own 
countrymen, they said, had ill-treated and plundered 
them, and they besought protection and help. The losses 
of the Khivan troops they declared to be enormous ; and 
they told the horrible story that many, in terror of the 
shots of the advancing Eussian infantry, had taken refuge 



BEFOEB THE CITT. 221 

in houses, and had there been burnt alive by the troops, 
who were quite ignorant of their being inside. 

A message came in the mid-day of the 4th from the 
Khan, begging for an armistice. General Yerevkin of 
course at once saw that the sole object of the Khan was 
to gain time, and rejected the proposal. 

The letter of the Khan was a curious production, and 
excited much merriment in the Eussian camp. It began 
by saying that a document of a similar import had been 
forwarded to General Kaufmann. He asked the Eussian 
commanders, in the most naive and friendly manner, to 
be kind enough to become his guests in Khiva. He 
himself had always entertained the most friendly feelings 
towards the Eussian troops, and it would be particularly 
agreeable to him to be allowed to receive and entertain 
them splendidly in his capital. He asked three or 
four days, that he might be able to make the festal 
preparations on a proper scale of magnificence. Ee- 
peatedly he assured the Eussian commanders of his 
friendliest feelings, and begged them, above all, not 
to confound his attitude with that of the plundering 
and barbarous Turcomans, who had recently, in a 
thoroughly unjustifiable manner, had the criminal pre- 
sumption to oppose the Eussian troops. With these 
robbers and waylayers he had nothing to do : on the 
contrary, he regarded them as his worst enemies. 

On the 7th of June the column reached the extensive 
gardens of a country palace of the Khan, Shanah-Tchik, 
and were thus within two miles and a half of the northern 
gate of the city. There a stay of three days was made, 
during which there were several engagements — great and 
small — with the Khivan troops. In one of these the 
enemy lost between 400 and 500 men. 



222 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

No news had recently come of the advance of General 
Kaufmann : a report, on the contrary, was current that 
he had been obliged, from want of provisions and wag- 
gons, to return to the Oxus, and that he was now sixty^ 
five miles from Khiva. These facts, together with the 
harassing effects upon the men and horses of hourly 
encounters with the enemy, and the report that the Khan 
was preparing for a great battle before the walls of the 
town, convinced Greneral Verevkin that he would not be 
justified in any longer delaying an attack on Khiva. 

Accordingly, on the evening of the 8th, the proper dis- 
positions were made for reconnoitring the city on the 
following day. 

On the morning of the 9 th of June, an advance was 
made, General Verevkin, as usual, with his staff, lead- 
ing the head of the column. The enemy occasionally 
appeared in large masses, but made no attempt at an 
attack. After a while, the troops found themselves in a 
narrow road, not more than four yards wide. The road 
was inclosed by walls; and all around there was an 
impassable network of houses, gardens, and canals. 

They proceeded along this narrow path silently and 
cautiously, raising a cloud of dust so thick that no man 
could see his neighbour. Suddenly broke upon their ears, 
like a thunderclap, a crash of musketry and the roar of 
artillery, followed by a volley of bullets that went 
shrieking overhead, and the heavy thud of round shot 
striking in the mud walls beyond them. It was a surprise, 
almost an ambuscade. Owing to the trees, the walls, 
and the clouds of dust which enveloped them, they had 
approached within 200 yards of the walls of Khiva 
without being aware of it.; and the Khivans had opened 
on them at point-blank range. 



THE ASSAULT. 223 

Discharge after discharge followed, but, fortunately for 
the Eussians, the aim of the Khivans was too high, and 
the greater part of the bullets passed overhead. The men 
began to fall, however, and it became necessary to act at 
once. 

Eetreat would have been impossible, had it been 
desirable. The only course open to them was to advance 
towards the walls under a fire which at every step 
became more destructive. 

G-eneral Yerevkin gave the order, and the troops 
started forward at a run. In a moment they found 
themselves in an open field before the walls of the 
city, in front of one of the gates. Eight in front of 
them, at the distance of 100 yards, and the same 
distance from the walls, was a kind of earthwork thrown 
up across the road, defended by four pieces of cannon. 
The artillery was ordered to advance; but, in the 
meantime, the fire from this battery proved so galling 
that G-eneral Verevkin determined to capture it. Two 
companies of infantry, under Major Burovstojff, were 
ordered out for the attack. The next moment they 
rushed forward along the dusty road with a shout. 
But a few yards in front of the breastwork they found 
a deep, wide canal, over which was a narrow bridge. 
This bridge the enemy had, strangely enough, not de- 
stroyed. They dashed over it, under a terrible fire 
from the walls and gates of the city, as well as from the 
breastwork itself, leaped over the obstructions with a 
yell, and bayoneted the gunners. They had virtually 
possession of the guns, but so many obstructions were in 
the way, and the fire of the enemy was so deadly, that 
it was difficult to drag them ofi". They were obliged to 
take shelter behind the banks of the canal; and here 



224 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

crouching, returned, as best they could, the fire from the 
walls. Their bullets took little efi'ect on the Khivans 
in their protected position. Had they but had scaling 
ladders, they might have found it less dangerous to 
storm the walls than to retire. The Eussian artillery 
had now got to work; and the storming party, placed 
between two fires, heard the solid shot of the Khivans 
and the shells of the Eussians pass shrieking over their 
heads so low as to almost touch them. 

This continued for a quarter of an hour, and then the 
Eussian artillery, having for a moment silenced the fire of 
the enemy, ceased, in order to give the storming party 
a chance to retreat. They seized the opportunity, laid 
hold of the guns, and commenced dragging them off. 
But the Khivans instantly reopened their fire, and the 
Eussians were obliged to haul the guns off one at a 
time over the narrow bridge and then along the straight 
road 200 yards before they reached shelter. They only 
succeeded in dragging ofi" three of the guns, and were 
obliged to leave one behind. 

In the meantime General Verevkin had been wounded. 
He received a shot just over the left eye, which well- 
nigh proved fatal. After giving orders for planting a 
battery to breach the walls, he retired, and surrendered 
his command to Colonel Saranchofi". 

A regular bombardment was now opened under the 
direction of Colonel Skobeloff, which was continued until 
four o'clock. 

Then a messenger arrived from the Khan, asking for a 
suspension of hostilities, and begging that the bombard- 
ment might cease, in order to negotiate terms of capitula- 
tion. 

Colonels Saranchoff and Lamakin granted a suspension 



A MESSAGE FROM KAUFMANN. 225 

of hostilities for a few hours; but the messenger had 
scarcely left the cam^?, when the Khivans again opened 
fire. The Eussians immediately recommenced the bom- 
bardment. 

Again a messenger arrived from the Khan, assuring 
the General that he was not responsible for the firing, 
which was continued contrary to his orders and wishes 
by the refractory and intractable Turcomans. As this 
was regarded as an instance of the impudent efi'rontery 
of the Khan, the bombardment was continued. It turned 
out, however, that the Khan was in earnest, and that he 
had no control over the Turcomans. 

About sunset, orders came from Kaufmann, with whom 
communication had been established, to stop the bombard- 
ment, which order was obeyed somewhat reluctantly. 
Thus ended the afi'air of the 9th of June. 



226 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 



CHAPTEE VIII. 

THE ENTRY INTO THE CITY. 

The Khan's letter to General Kaufmann, of which I 
have spoken in a previous chapter, proffered his submis- 
sion, and begged that the bombardment of the city might 
cease. Kaufmann, it will be remembered, was still ten 
miles distant from the city. He immediately despatched a 
courier with instructions to Greneral Yerevkin to stop the 
bombardment. He likewise wrote a letter to the Khan, 
telling him to ride out the next morning, before the gates 
of the city, with 100 followers, and there the terms of 
surrender would be dictated to him. 

The next morning at sunrise we were again on the 
march, but the wildest rumours were afloat about what 
had passed at Khiva during the night. 

The peop]^ along the road, who came flocking to meet 
us in great numbers with their peace-offerings, informed 
us that the Khan had been driven out by the enraged 
inhabitants when they heard of his meditated surrender ; 
that his brother had been chosen in his place, and that 
they were going to resist a outrance. It was another 4th 
of September, in short, arranged after the latest French 
style, as well as we could make out, and it was even said 
that Eochefort and Cluseret had arrived, and declared the 



CAPITULATION. 227 

Commune. Upon tracing the latter part of this story to 
its source, however, I found it had originated with the 
Grrand Duke Nicholas, who recounted it with the gravest 
face imaginable. The joy expressed throughout the 
detachment at the prospect of a fight was unbounded, 
but it was soon clouded. About three miles from Khiva 
we were met by a delegation, headed by Said Emir Ul- 
Umar, the old uncle of the Khan before mentioned, 
Governor of Hazar-Asp. He came to surrender the town, 
and informed General Kaufmann that the Khan, instead 
of being driven out by the people, had run away of his 
own accord. He had left instructions for his wives and 
slaves to follow, but the people had prevented the women 
from leaving the palace, and kept them prisoners in their 
own rooms, as an acceptable peace-offering to General 
Kaufmann. His flight had occurred in this wise. 

It appeared that the Turcomans were determined to fight 
to the last. Despite the Khan's orders to the contrary, 
they kept firing upon General Yerevkin's troops, who 
were before the walls. To this fire the Eussians, of course, 
replied, and the fight was renewed in a desultory way. 
The Eussians, at last, recommenced the bombardment of 
the city, which they kept up at intervals during the night. 
Some of the shells had even fallen into the palace, and 
one was afterwards picked up in the stables by the 
Eussians, which had not exploded. This continued bom- 
bardment the Khan had become frightened at, and he had 
fled with a few hundred Turcomans to Imukchir, near 
Iliali. But the people of the town, so far from wish- 
ing to continue the fight, were ready and willing to 
submit. 

Said Emir Ul-Umar was about seventy years old, 
very feeble, and with a perfectly idiotic expression of face, 



228 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

caused by a hanging lower jaw and open mouth, said to be 
the result of opium eating. He was not so imbecile as he 
looked, however, and had proved the soundness of his 
judgment by advising the Khan for years to accede to the 
demands of the Kussians, and thus prevent an invasion. 
He had long been in disgrace on account of his pacific 
views with regard to the Kussians. But it was because of 
these same views that he was now charged by the Khan 
to surrender the city and to intercede for him. He 
was dressed in a bright green khalat, the tall black sheep- 
skin hat of the Khivans, large boots made of unblacked 
leather, pointed and turned up at the toes, and garnished 
with high narrow heels. 

Kaufmann related to me that Said Emir Ul-Umar had 
at one time persuaded the Khan to accede to the Kussian 
demands, but that Mat Murad, another of the Khan's 
counsellors, had dissuaded him from it by the following 
argument : — " "When I was a boy," he said, " very young 
indeed, I remember hearing it said that the Eitssians 
were coming — but they did not come. And since then 
there has been a report nearly every year that they 
were coming. Now I am an old man, and still the 
Eussians have not come, and I do not believe that they 
ever will come." This argument proved conclusive, and 
the Khan only discovered its fallacy when the Eussians 
were thundering away at his capital. A younger brother 
of the Khan, Atta-Djan, who had been in prison for the last 
two years, and who had just been liberated, accompanied 
Said Emir Ul-Umar, and, as it soon appeared, was a 
candidate for the throne. Greneral Kaufmann received 
him kindly, and promised that if the Khan did not return, 
he would set him up in his place, but not otherwise. 
Atta-Djan is a tall, rawboned, rather lubberly young man. 



TOGETHER AT LAST. 229 

and does not look as though his was just the hand to 
take the helm of state. He is said to be more clever 
than he looks, however, and is much liked by the 
people. 

It was now about nine o'clock in the morning, and the 
column resumed its march, old Said Emir Ul-Umar and 
Atta-Djan riding along with the staff. The day was 
growing hot, and the dust becoming awful; it rose up 
around us in a thick cloud, so dense that at times you 
could not see the man riding next you. At ten o'clock we 
were within a mile and a half of Khiva, and were met by 
a part of Yerevkin's detachment in full uniform, drawn 
up to meet us. The troops exchanged hearty cheers, as 
they met each other for the first time after their long 
march from almost different quarters of the globe ; but 
G-eneral Verevkin was not there to receive Kaufmann, 
and we soon learned that he was not able to leave his 
tent. 

Kaufmann turned off the road, under some trees, to 
hear the story of the Orenburg detachment. During this 
time several reports of cannon were heard, which was 
rather extraordinary, considering that the city had already 
capitulated. I did not receive the explanation of this 
circumstance for several days afterwards, as for some un- 
accountable reason all the officers in our detachment tried 
to keep it a secret from me. It was only upon meeting 
some of the officers of the Orenburg troops that I heard 
the story. 

The explanation was this. The Turcomans, not at all 

satisfied with this tame ending to the war, were resolved 

to fight awhile longer. General Kaufmann had advanced 

by the road from Hazar-Asp, towards the Hazar-Asp gate, 

whereas General Yerevkin's attack of the day before was 

17 



230 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

on the northern or Hazavat gate, about half a mile distant. 
The Turcomans, in spite of the fact that Said Emir 
Ul-Umar was surrendering the city on the Hazar-Asp 
side, still kept up an irregular fire on Yerevkin's troops, 
against whom they seemed to have a grudge. I cannot 
help expressing my admiration for these people. Long 
after the Khan and all the other inhabitants of the oasis 
had given up the struggle, they continued it ; if all the 
people of Khiva had shown their courage and pluck, the 
result of the campaign might have been very different. 
The ^^ussians would undoubtedly have taken the place, but 
with such great loss as to have rendered their position 
for the moment a very precarious one. 

The command, when G-eneral Yerevkin was disabled, 
had devolved upon Colonel Saranchoff, a somewhat fiery 
officer, who was as much disposed to fight as the Turco- 
mans. And he was surrounded by several spirited 
young officers, such as Colonel Skobeloff and Count 
Shuvaloff, who were only too glad of the pretext thus 
offered them. 

In spite of the fact that Kaufmann was making a 
peaceable entry on the other side, they, chafing under 
the fire of the Turcomans, determined to take the town 
by storm. 

Accordingly a few shells were thrown against the Hazavat 
gate, which was soon battered down, and Colonel Sko- 
beloff and Count Shuvaloff, at the head of about 1000 men, 
rushed to the assault, under a lively fire of small arms 
from the walls. As soon as the Eussians got possession 
of the gate, the Turcomans retired from the walls into 
the streets and houses, and still kept up a discharge of 
small arms. The Eussians cleared the streets before them 
with rockets, and thus advanced in a kind of running 



AT THE GATES. 231 

fight, into the city, until they reached the palace of the 
Khan. 

They had scarcely been here five minutes when the Tash- 
kent detachment was reported entering by the Hazar-Asp 
gate, in grand state, with music and flying colours. Sko- 
beloff instantly gave the order to retreat, and retired by 
the gate by which he had entered. In this afi'air Count 
Shuvaloff received a severe contusion from a falling beam, 
from which he had not yet recovered when he left Khiva, 
while some fourteen soldiers were wounded. 

In the meantime we on the other side of the city had 
been awaiting the result of the negotiations with Said 
Emir Ul-Umar. Everything having been satisfactorily 
arranged. General Golovatchoff moved forward. Two 
companies of infantry led the head of the column, fol- 
lowed by four pieces of cannon; after those two more 
companies, and 200 Cossacks. 

It was now about noon, and in ten minutes we were 
within sight of the renowned city. We did not see 
it until we were within less than half a mile, owing 
to the masses of trees everywhere that completely hid 
it from our view. At last it broke upon us, amid the 
clouds of dust which we had raised. Great, heavy 
mud walls, high, and battlemented with heavy round but- 
tresses, and a ditch, partly dry, partly filled with water, 
over which we could see the tops of trees, a few tall 
minarets, domes of mosques, and one immense round 
tower that reflected the rays of the sun like porcelain. 
We were before the gate of Hazar-Asp. A heavy arched 
and covered gateway, ten feet wide by twenty deep, 
arched over with brick, and flanked by heavy towers with 
loop holes — a little fortress in itself. Through this gate, 
which had been opened to receive us — in a cloud of dust so 



232 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

dense and thick tliat I, at times, conld not see my horse's 
head — we marched with flying colours, a military band 
from the Orenburg detachment playing the national 
Eussian air, "Bodje Tsaria Haranyie." As we passed 
through the long arched gateway we left the dust behind 
us, and emerging from this, found the city before us. 

I think every one of us experienced a feeling of disap- 
pointment. We had not expected much in the way of 
architectural display or of imposing beauty ; nevertheless 
we looked for something striking and picturesque, and in 
this we were disappointed. There are points of view in 
Khiva which are very picturesque, but this was not one of 
them, and the great porcelain tower, the most striking 
object, now that we were near it, was hid from view by 
intervening walls or trees. Immediately before us, along 
the interior of the walls, was a wide open space, with a 
few trees here and there, then a few mud houses and 
sheds, not more than ten or fifteen feet high ; a little to 
the right a great number of round semispherical tombs — 
there is a cemetery almost in the middle of- the city — 
farther on more mud houses, taller and more pretentious, 
with high porches, trees here and there among them ; 
then the mud walls of the citadel, behind which arose a 
minaret or two. Here there was no soul to greet us, but 
as we entered a long, narrow, winding street, built up of 
bare, black, hideous mud walls, we began to see small 
groups of men in the lateral streets, in dirty, ragged 
tunics, and long beards, with hats ofi", bowing timidly to us 
as we passed. These were the inhabitants, and they were 
not yet sure whether they would all be massacred or not. 
With what strange awe and dread they must have gazed 
upon us as we passed, dust-covered and grimy, after our 
march of 600 miles over the desert, which they had 



THEOUGH THE STREETS. 233 

considered impassable. Grim, stern, silent and invincible, 
we must have appeared to them like some strange, power- 
ful beings of an unknown world. 

Then we came upon a crowd of Persian slaves, who 
received us with shouts, cries, and tears of joy. They 
were wild with excitement. They had heard that wherever 
the Eussians went slavery disappeared, and they did not 
doubt that it would be the case here. Some had already 
liberated themselves ; and I saw several engaged in cutting 
the chains of three or four miserable beings, shouting the 
while, and laughing and crying all at once in the wildest 
manner. 

I may as well state in this connection that my people, 
curiously enough, found the young Kirghiz whose mother 
had come to me in Bey-Tabuk's tent, and begged me to 
have him set at liberty. They found him heavily loaded 
with irons for attempting to run away, but they soon set 
him at liberty, to his great joy and satisfaction. I after- 
wards saw him gaily equipped in a red tunic, provided 
with sword and gun, and mounted on a horse he had 
probably taken from his master. 

We passed through the narrow, dusty, crooked street 
until we came to the citadel, which we entered by a long, 
heavy, arched brick gateway. As soon as we were through 
this gateway we had a nearer view of the large tower, 
which now came out in brilliant colours of blue, green, 
purple, and brown. Taking a narrow street, not more 
than ten feet wide, leading directly towards this tower, 
we soon arrived upon a square about fifty by seventy-five 
yards, which proved to be the great square before the 
palace of the Khan. One side of this square was taken 
up by the palace, a huge, rambling structure, with mud- 
battlemented walls about twenty feet high; opposite was 



234 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

a new medresse not yet finished; the other two sides 
were filled up by sheds and private houses, while at the 
south-eastern angle of the palace rose, beautiful and 
majestic, the famous sacred tower of Khiva. 

It was about 30 feet in diameter at the bottom, and 
tapered gradually to the top, a height of about 125 feet, 
where it appeared to have a diameter of 15 feet. It had 
neither pedestal nor capital, nor ornament of any kind — 
a plain, round tower — but its surface was covered with 
burnt tiles, brightly coloured in blue, green, purple, and 
brown on a pure white ground, arranged in a variety 
of broad stripes and figures; the whole producing a 
most brilliant and beautiful effect. The tower is like- 
wise covered with verses of the Koran, and is held in 
great reverence by the Khivans ; from its top may be 
heard, every evening at sunset, the shrill, piercing voice of 
a mullah calling the people to prayer. 

The tops of the two towers flanking the palace gate 
were embellished in the same way as the large tower, and 
parts of the fagade of the new medresse opposite, not yet 
finished, were evidently to be decorated in like manner. 
Near the middle of this place was a hole about ten feet 
square and six deep, which, I afterwards learned, was the 
place where criminals were executed. 

We rode into this square, and formed around it to await 
the arrival of G-eneral Kaufmann. He soon rode in, fol- 
lowed by the Grrand Duke, Prince Eugene, and the staff, 
and was greeted with cheers. We all then alighted, and 
entered the gateway of the palace, which was partly ob- 
structed by a heavy brass cannon. Having passed this, we 
came into a long, narrow, irregular court. To the left it 
branched off, and led to the stables ; to the right was 
a pair of high heavy wooden doors, leading to the harem, 




IliilllllllliiliiilliliiiilllillllilliiliiilliiliilliiiiH^^ 



IN THE KHAN'S PALACE. 235 

and right in front a mass of low, irregular, mud structures. 
These we entered by a dark, narrow corridor, first into a 
dark room about eight feet by sixteen, then into another 
room, nearly the same size, lighted by a hole in the roof ; 
then into another dark corridor, from which we emerged 
into the grand court of the palace. It is about forty feet 
square, paved with brick, only shaded by a small elm- 
tree growing in one corner, and shut in by walls twenty 
feet high, over which, on the northern side, rose the 
square mud tower of the harem. On the southern side 
was the grand hall of state, or audience chamber of the 
Khan. 

Imagine a kind of porch entirely open to the court, 
thirty feet high, twenty wide, ten deep, and flanked on 
either side by towers ornamented with blue and green 
tiles, in the same way as the large tower on the square ; 
a floor raised six feet above the pavement of the court, the 
roof supported by two carved, slender, wooden pillars, the 
whole resembling much the stage of a theatre, and you will 
have a very good idea of the grand hall of state, wherein the 
Khan of Khiva sits and dispenses justice. We all mounted 
the steps leading up to this kind of stage, Kaufmann, 
Golovatchoff, the Grand Duke Nicholas, Prince Leuchten- 
berg, stafi" officers and all, and threw ourselves down to rest, 
while the band struck up an air from ' La Belle Helene,' 
followed by another from ' Bluebeard.' As the old 
familiar music broke upon our ears, and the whole absurd 
farce of Offenbach appeared to our mind's eyes, we of the 
younger part of the company set up a shout of delight 
that made the old palace ring. 

Old Jakub Beg, one of the Khan's ministers, brought 
us in some ice-water, a thing we had never hoped for in 
Khiva, with wheaten cakes, apricots, and cherries, with 



236 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

wliicli we merrily proceeded to refresh ourselves. The 
Khan, Said Muhamed-Eahim-Bogadur-Khan, had fled ; 
the Kussians were in possession of his palace and his 
harem : and so fell Khiva, the great stronghold of Islam- 
ism, in Central Asia, after a succession of disastrous 
expeditions extending over a period of 200 years. 



\ 



A COSSACK ADVENTUKER. 237 



CHAPTEE IX. 

PREVIOUS EXPEDITIONS AGAINST KHIVA.* 

It may not now be without interest to take a retrospective 
glance at the previous expeditions that were directed 
against Khiva. 

The first of these was undertaken by the Yaik, or Ural 
Cossacks. It was organised, set on foot, and carried out 
by a famous Cossack chieftain, and was simply a freebooting 
expedition on a large scale. He actually succeeded in 
conquering the Khanate. Probably finding the Khan 
unprepared for war, he drove him out, took possession of 
his capital, and seized his treasure and his wives. He 
then declared himself Khan, and governed the country, 
it is said, for two or three months, during which time 
he converted the Khan's favourite wife to Christianity 
and married her. At last, finding he could maintain him- 
self no longer, he determined to retreat, and started back 
. to the Ural, loaded with booty. 

The Khan having, in the meantime, assembled a large 
force, pursued the invaders hotly, with projects of direst 
vengeance, and overtook them at last. A great battle was 

* The account of these expeditions I have obtained principnlly from 
translations of Russian papers, kindly furnished me by Mr. Michell, of 
the India Office. 



238 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

fought, in which the Cossacks were completely routed and 
cut to pieces. Only five or six escaped to tell the tale. 
The Cossack leader, seeing escape hopeless, killed his 
newly-converted bride, that she might not fall a victim 
to the vengeance of the enraged Khan, and died, sword 
in hand, with a hecatomb of slain Mussulmen around 
him. 

Some years later, another expedition of Cossacks made 
a dash upon Kuna-Urgench, captured about a thousand 
women whom they wanted for wives, and retreated across 
the desert, laden with spoil. The Khan again pursued, 
overtook, and slaughtered them nearly to the last man. 
Another Cossack expedition proved equally disastrous. 
They did not even reach the oasis, but were met halfway 
by the Khivans, and overpowered by superior numbers. 

The next expedition undertaken against Khiva was that 
of Beckovitch-Cherkassky in 1717, under Peter the Grreat. 
In the year 1700, Peter had received an envoy from the 
Khan of Khiva, Shah-Niaz, who, finding it somewhat 
difiicult to maintain his authority against his rebellious 
subjects, sought the powerful protection of the Eussian 
monarch. Shah-Niaz begged Peter to accept the sub- 
mission of the Khanate. Peter, although incessantly 
occupied with his project of connecting Kussia with 
Europe, never abandoned the idea of increasing the 
commercial relations of his empire with Asia. Accord- 
ingly he intimated in a letter to Shah-Niaz his accept- 
ance of the submission of Khiva. 

But no further steps were taken to conclude the agree- 
ment thus entered into." At length, in the year 1714, a 
Turcoman, Hofa-Nefes by name, who had been to Khiva, 
in an interview with Peter, asserted that in the country 
bordering the Amu gold sand was to be found, and that 



CHEEKASSKY STAETS. 239 

the river, which formerly flowed into the Caspian, and 
which, in fear of the Knssians, had been diverted into the 
Aral Sea by the Khivans, might, by destroying a dam, be 
made to run again in its old channel. In such a work, 
the Russians would receive the willing assistance of the 
Turcomans, 

To determine the truth of these statements, Peter sent 
Prince Beckovitch-Cherkassky to explore the shores of the 
Caspian, and to see what were the prospects of sending 
an expedition along the supposed ancient bed of the Oxus 
to Khiva. Beckovitch spent three years on his task; 
exploring the eastern shores of the Caspian, and building 
forts to protect the country of which the Russians took 
possession there ; and he also satisfied himself that, as 
reported by the Turcoman, the Oxus had formerly flowed 
into the Caspian. Having repoi'ted these results to Peter, 
the Tsar determined to send an expedition to Khiva to 
assert the claim, which he founded upon the submission 
of Shah-Maz, seventeen years before. A force for the 
purjDose, composed of about 4,000 regular and irregular 
4;roops, was organised by Beckovitch. 

This expedition left Gurieff, on the mouth of the Ural, 
in the beginning of June. They marched around the 
northern shores of the Caspian until they struck the old 
caravan route to Khiva, where they started across the 
desert. Undertaken during the summer heat, the march 
proved a terrible one. By the time they had reached 
Khiva, one fourth of their entire forces had died. They 
traversed in sixty-five days 900 miles of the barren and 
waterless desert, during the very hottest season of the 
year, and arrived about the middle of August upon the 
delta of the Oxus, within 100 miles of Khiva. 

Before reaching this point, Beckovitch had sent a letter 



240 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

to Khiva, in which he assured the Khan that he was not 
going to make war, and that he came on a friendly mission 
from the Tsar, which he would explain on arriving. By 
fchis time the Khan, Shah-Niaz, had died, and had been 
succeeded by Shir-Gazi, a Khan, whose views with regard 
to the Eussians were very different from those of his 
predecessor. The messengers of Beckovitch, on their 
arrival in Khiva, were thrown into prison, and the Khan 
hastened to assemble a numerous army of Khivans, Turco- 
mans, Kirghiz, and Kara-Kalpaks, resolved upon offering 
resistance. 

On the day when the' Eussians reached the oasis, the 
Khivan cavalry appeared in sight, and without any pre- 
liminary parley, bore down on the ,Eussian camp. The 
battle, thus begun, lasted till nightfall, when the Khivans 
withdrew. Foreseeing a fresh attack, Beckovitch forti- 
fied his camp during the night, and placed his six guns 
in position. The fight was renewed next morning, and 
continued for two days longer, when the Khivans, finding 
that they were unable to beat back the Eussians, resorted 
to negotiations. A messenger came from the Khan to 
say that the attack on the Eussians had been made 
without his orders, and that, if Beckovitch had really 
come as a friendly envoy to Khiva, he had no cause to 
fear the enmity of the Khivans. Negotiations were now 
entered into, and soon resulted in a preliminary treaty, 
which was confirmed by oath ; the Khan kissing the 
Koran, and Beckovitch the cross. 

The Khan then invited Beckovitch to accompany him 
into his capital, and, having accepted the offer, Becko- 
vitch, leaving the main body of his army under Colonel 
Frankenburg, with instructions to follow him at an easy 
distance, marched forward with a body of 1000 men. 



A WHOLESALE SLAUGHTEE. 241 

Two days' march from the town, Beckovitch halted ; aud 
here he had a long talk with the Khan. In this inter- 
view, the Khan represented the difficulty of finding 
quarters and provisions for the large hody of Eussians 
in the capital, and suggested to Beckovitch that he 
should divide his own escort and the column behind into 
sereral small parties, which could then be distributed 
among the towns nearest the capital. 

Beckovitch might have been expected to have viewed 
with suspicion so extraordinary a proposal. But his mind 
had unquestionably become affected by this time. On the 
very day he started from Astrakan, his wife and two 
daughters were drowned ; and this, together with the 
fatigues of the journey across the desert, the losses of his 
troops, and the terrible anxieties of his position, had almost 
reduced him to madness. In place of showing any suspicion 
of the Khan's intentions, he immediately sent back orders 
to Colonel Frankenburg to divide his troops, as had been 
suggested ; and when that officer refused three times to 
obey these orders, he despatched a fourth messenger, once 
more repeating his command, with the threat of a court 
martial in case of disobedience. Frankenburg accordingly 
divided his troops into five parts, and allowed them to be 
distributed according to the Khan's instructions. Becko- 
vitch reduced his own escort to 200 men. 

He had scarcely made these dispositions, when he was 

surrounded and attacked by the Khivans. Some of his 

troops were cut down, some secured as prisoners. He 

and his officers were then thrown into prison, and, 

after undergoing various tortures, were beheaded. At 

the same time, upon a preconcerted signal, the whole 

Khivan population rose and slaughtered the small bodies 

of Eussians in detail. Of the whole 4000 men who started 

18 



242 CAMPAiaNING ON THE OXUS. 

for Khiva, only forty escaped. These, having been re- 
tained as prisoners for a long time, were at last released, 
upon payment of a large ransom. Curious to say, two 
of Beckovitch's brothers were among those who were al- 
lowed to escape. So ended the fourth expedition against 
Khiva. 

During the next 120 years, the Cossacks and the 
Khivans changed roles. The Cossacks, who had formerly 
attacked and plundered the Khivans, were now them- 
selves attacked and plundered. Caravans, on their way 
to trade in Central Asia, were daily seized, and thousands 
of Cossacks and other Eussian subjects were captured and 
kept in slavery in Khiva. 

In 1839 these forays had reached such proportions as 
to be no longer tolerable. Several attempts were made 
to induce the Khan by negotiations to put a stop to these 
depredations. All these attempts failing, the Eussians 
determined to send an expedition against Khiva. 

The expedition was organised by General Perovski in 
Orenburg. After a year's preparations, a body of about 
5000 men, with twenty-two guns and a transport train of 
10,000 camels, started from Orenburg about the 1st 
December, 1839. It was supposed to be impossible to 
cross the desert in summer, on account of the scarcity 
of water ; and it had, accordingly, been decided to attempt 
the march in winter. 

By the middle of December, the thermometer (Eeaumur) 
marked thirty-two degrees below zero, and the mercury 
was congealed in the glass. The troops, nevertheless, 
reached. Emba in good condition ; not a man having died 
from cold or exposure. But the winter proved to be an 
exceptionably severe one. Snow had already fallen to a 
depth that had seldom been seen before, even on the 



A TEERIBLE WINTER. 243 

steppe. From this time forward, the camels began to die 
rapidly, and before the troops had reached halfway to 
Khiva, the number of the animals had been reduced by 
death and exhaustion to 5000, instead of the 10,000 with 
which the expedition had started. The hardships suf- 
fered by the soldiers were terrible. In order to spare 
the camels as much as possible, the infantry had to march 
in front of them in four files, so as to make a beaten 
track for them to advance upon. Where the snow was 
very deep, the cavalry were made to pass and repass 
several times over the same ground ; and in some places 
the infantry had to shovel away the snow, the object still 
being to make the road easy to the camels. But notwith- 
standing all these precautions, the animals continued to 
die daily in large numbers. 

The fall of a camel, besides it own loss, caused a serious 
amount of inconvenience to the army. The load of the 
animal had to be taken off, then transferred to another ; 
and afterwards the body had to be removed out of the way, 
before the column could proceed. The men, sinking to 
their knees, and sometimes to their waists in snow, ex- 
hausted their strength in labour of this kind. In some 
places, the snow, hard as ice, was able to support any 
weight, but in other places, it was soft ; acd then the men 
had to use incredible exertions to extricate the horses, 
camels, and guns. Some days, after all this fatigue and 
struggle, a distance of but two and a half miles was 
made. 

During the terrible " Burans " or snowstorms, it was 
impossible to advance ; and, while one of these lasted, the 
soldiers had simply to camp, and wait until it was over. 
The cold became more and more terrible every day. 
Even the night halt brought no relief: 19,000 packages 



244 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

had, wheneyer the troops made a stop, to be unloaded; 
and before a fire could be lit, the roots and shrubs from 
which it was made had to be dug out of the hard, 
frozen ground. It had then to be cleared of snow for 
the horses and camels ; and it was not till eight or nine 
o'clock in the evening that the soldier could obtain a 
little repose. At two or three o'clock next morning, he 
was obliged to rise and recommence the march. In such 
cold weather it was impossible to wash linen or pay any 
attention to personal cleanliness. Many men did not 
once change their linen, or even take off their clothes 
during the whole campaign. Thus, covered with vermin 
and dirt, and weakened by fatigue and hunger, they soon 
were stricken by disease. 

By the 1st of February, the expedition had reached 
the spring of Ak-Bulak, on the edge of the elevated 
plateau of Ust-Urt, nearly halfway to Khiva. General 
Perovski found at this point that his camels were dying 
at the rate of 100 a day ; that less than 5000 only were 
left out of 10,000 ; and that those which remained were 
now able to carry but one-fourth of their original burden. 
As to the soldiers, the sick list was increasing at a 
terrible rate. 236 men had died ; 528 were under treat- 
ment ; while a great number had been left behind as a gar- 
rison at Emba. Deducting all these, the effective force 
only amounted to about 2000 men. And there was still 
a distance of 500 miles before the inhabited portions of 
Khiva could be reached. Greneral Perovski decided to 
retreat. 

During the march back, the same difficulties had to be 
encountered ; the cold continued with unceasing severity, 
the thermometer ranging from fifteen to twenty degrees 
below zero (Keaumur). There were, besides, high winds 



UTTER DISCOMFITURE. 245 

and little water ; and, as before, the only fuel was small 
plants and roots, which had to be dug for in the snow. 
The march back was thus attended with the same 
difficulties and sufferings as the advance ; and there were 
besides the discouraging influence of a retreat. The roads 
were strewn with the bodies of the camels they had left 
behind ; and the carcasses were by this time deyoured 
by the wolves and foxes, who had gathered among the 
prey in great numbers. The sick-list increased terribly ; 
scurvy began to spread among the officers as well as men. 
At last, the number of invalided reached the extraordinary 
figure of 3000 out of 5000. Haggard, dispirited, and 
utterly worn out, the troops reached Fort Emba on the 
20th of February, and here awaited the return of spring. 
Such was the fate of the fifth expedition against Khiva. 
That organised by General Kaufmann was the sixth. 



246 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 



CHAPTEE X. 

IN THE PALACE. 

General Kattfmann remained in the palace of tlie Khan 
ahout two hours, and then, accompanied by the Grrand 
Duke and Prince Eugene, rode out to the camp of the 
Orenburg detachment, in order to see General Yerevkin, 
who, as will be remembered, had been wounded in the 
affair of the day before. General Golovatchoff remained 
in the palace with three or four companies of troops, part 
of whom were camped in the court, and a part on the 
square before the palace. 

After a nap of a couple of hours — which I obtained 
stretched out on the floor of the great hall of state — a 
cup of tea, and some brown wheaten cakes, I commenced 
looking about the palace. The afternoon was now well 
advanced, and the heat, which had been so oppressive 
during the day, began to abate. 

The palace, as I have before stated, was a large ir- 
regular structure, consisting of a mass of low mud 
buildings, enclosed by a heavy mud wall, twenty feet high, 
a rather fine gateway, and two or three watch-towers. 
To the left, upon entering, were the stables, which we 
found empty. On this side were also several suites of 
rooms or dwellings, each composed of a small court, sur- 



THE KHAN'S TEEASUEE-KOOM. 247 

rounded by walls ten or fifteen feet liigli, and a number 
of small rooms that opened into it. On one side of tbis 
court tbere was always a bigb open porcb, very lofty, 
facing to tbe nortb — a peculiarity of Kbivan arcbi- 
tecture. 

Tbe rooms were dark, generally receiving no ligbt nor 
air, except tbrougb tbe door, or sometimes a little square 
bole in tbe wall or ceiling; and altbougb tbey may 
bave been not at all uncomfortable wben furnisbed witb 
brigbt-coloured rugs, bed-covers, and cusbions, tbey 
now, bare and naked, presented, witb tbeir mud walls and 
uneven floors, an appearance ratber suggestive of cow- 
stables tban anytbing else. We found a few bedclotbes, 
carpets, and cooking utensils in some of tbem, wbicb, 
scattered about as tbey were, gave token of tbe basty 
fligbt of tbeir late owners. I am not sure, bowever, 
wbetber tbe inbabitants of tbis part of tbe palace bad 
bad time ' to carry ofi" tbeir most valuable effects, or 
wbetber tbe people bad got in after tbe fligbt of tbe 
Kban and plundered tbe place. 

Directly in front of tbe raain entrance, at tbe distance 
of forty feet, was a bigb, strong, double door, leading into 
tbe barem, and a little to tbe left of tbis, tbe low corridor 
before spoken of, wbicb led to tbe principal court of tbe 
palace. In tbe rooms immediately surrounding tbis court 
lived tbe principal officers of tbe Kban's suite. Tbe room 
immediately forming tbe back of tbe great porcb, or ball 
of state, wbicb I bave described as resembling tbe stage of 
a tbeatre, was tbe Kban's treasure-room. 

In tbe course of tbe afternoon. General Grolovatcboff bad 
tbis place opened. It was a low, vaulted room, tbe same 
size as tbe porcb ; tbe walls and ceilings were covered 
witb frescoes, representing flowers and vines in tbe crudest 



248 CAMPAiaNING ON THE OXUS. 

and most unmatched colours it is possible to imagine. On 
one end of it, set up on a kind of platform, was a large 
square old chair, broad and low-backed, and covered with 
leather. This was the Khan's throne. The chair was of 
superior workmanship, and was quite a curiosity. It 
showed some very skilful carving and incrusting ; and 
reminded one somewhat of the old throne of the Eussian 
Tsars shown in St. Petersburg. On the upper part of 
the back there was an oval silver plate with the in- 
scription, "In the time of Mahomed Eahim Shah of 
Kharezm in the year 1231. Done by the unworthy 
Mahomed." At the other end of the room were three or 
four iron chests, with heavy locks. These were open and 
empty, all but one, which contained, perhaps, thirty 
pounds' worth of Khivan silver. In another were a 
saddle, bridle, and harness, all covered with gold plating 
and set with rubies, emeralds, and turquoises, which, 
though for the most part of an inferior quality, produced 
in the sunlight a very brilliant effect. 

Precious stones in this country, so far as I had occa- 
sion to observe, though often large, had many blemishes. 
Although there were some very big emeralds and rubies, 
they were full of holes, or the colour was so pale as to 
make them valueless. 

Leaning up against the wall, or lying on the floor in 
heaps, were arms — swords, daggers, guns, pistols, and 
revolvers of almost every conceivable shape and descrip- 
tion. There were several splendid old matchlocks, with 
their crooked stocks and long, slender, tapering barrels, 
beautifully inlaid with gold, together with a good many 
guns of a more modern style, and one beautiful English 
double-barrel breech-loading hunting rifle, Ko. 12 or 
16, with a good supply of cartridges, percussion caps, 



LOED NOETHBROOK'S PEESENTS. 249 

moulds for round shot, and instruments for refilling tlie 
cartridges. 

This rifle, as we soon learned, was a present from Lord 
Northbrook. Close by, was found the letter written by 
the Viceroy of India, in September, 1872, to the Khan, 
in reply to his demand for help against the Eussians, 
besides a field-glass and a music-box, and seyeral other 
little things presented by Lord Northbrook. 

Then there were pistols of all kinds, from the old- 
fashioned flint-lock to something resembling a Colt's 
revolver ; and even one very bad Eussian imitation of the 
Smith and Weston cartridge-revolver, which showed at 
least that the Khan knew something of the perfection of 
modern firearms. There were swords of all sorts. Two 
or three sabres of English manufacture ; a number of the 
broad, beautiful, slightly-curved blades of Khorassan, 
inlaid with gold ; several slender Persian scimitars, with 
scabbards set in turquoises and emeralds ; short, thick, 
curved poignards and knives from Afi'ghanistan, all richly 
mounted and provided with sheaths set in precious stones. 
Beautiful carpets, coverlets in silk of the brightest colour, 
cushions, pillows, khalats, and a number of fine Cashmere 
shawls were scattered about in the greatest confusion, 
and gave evidence of the hurried departure of the Khan. 

At the end of this room was a little stairway, leading 
up into another room, the floor of which was about six 
feet higher than that of the first one. It was low 
and small, and served, apparently, both as the library and 
the lumber-room of the Khan. About 300 volumes of 
books, with all sorts of old lumber, chain armour, plated 
armour covered with rust and dust, half a dozen old 
telescopes — one of a very large size — pottery, bows and 
arrows, old iron, and pig>lead were found in this room. 



250 CMIPAiaNING ON THE OXUS. 

Many of tlie books, as I was informed by Mr. Kubn, 
tbe Orientalist of tbe expedition, were very curious and 
valuable. They were all written by band, many of them 
beautifully ; for tbe most part, tbey were bound in leather 
or parchment. Among tliem were a history of the world 
and a history of Khiva from the beginning of time. 
They have all been sent to the Imperial Library of St. 
Petersburg. 

Of the armour, there were several very line suits, 
beautifully inlaid with gold, that possibly found their 
way here through the Saracens and Crusaders. On one 
beautiful pair of gauntlets was traced in gold a lily and 
near it a crescent of a later and much ruder workmanship. 
Possibly it had been lost and won in some desperate 
hand-to-hand fight, when some noble French knight, 
whose name has long since passed into oblivion, fell 
beneath the sharp scimitar of the Saracen. 

While thus viewing the interior of the palace, I had 
a curious example of the dexterity of the Persian slaves 
in stealing. Two or three of them, who had helped to 
open the doors of the strong room, came in with us, 
unnoticed. Just before we were going out, preparatory 
to shutting up the place again, I observed one of these 
Persians deftly slip a beautiful dagger under his long- 
loose khalat. He did this unperceived by anybody but 
myself, although there were a dozen officers in the room 
at the time. I kept my eye on him, and after a moment 
saw him go quietly out into the court, linger about a few 
minutes, and then move off with an assumption of in- 
difference that was amusing. I followed him until he 
got into the outer court, where there were no officers, 
and then stopped him, making a significant gesture, with 
the single word "■ bir !" — "give." He pretended not to 



A GLIMPSE OF THE HAREM. 251 

understand at first, and opened his khalat to show me he 
had nothing. As I remembered the story of a certain 
well-known "heathen Chinee," however, I simply laid 
my hand on my revolver, with a scowl, whereupon he 
immediately produced the dagger from his sleeve. I 
then majestically motioned him away, and he glided out 
with a scared face, glad to get off on such easy terms. 
My object in allowing him to escape unpunished was two- 
fold. First, I did not want to have the poor devil shat, 
as he would inevitably have been, had I denounced him ; 
and secondly, I wanted the dagger myself. Ill-gotten 
goods, I soon learned, however, do not profit the getter : 
the dagger was stolen from me before two weeks, probably 
by the same dexterous hand, along with the valuable little 
Kirghiz horse of which I more than once spoke in the 
account of my travels in the Kyzil-Kum. 

My only revenge was in devoutly wishing and pray- 
ing that my acquaintance was among those unlucky Per- 
sians who, falling into the hands of the Turcomans on 
their way home to their native land, were murdered. 

It was now near dark, and I commenced looking 
anxiously around for my people, whom I had not seen 
since our entry into the city. I could not find any of 
them, and was beginning to grow uneasy, when something 
else arrested my attention, and drove all thoughts of 
them out of my head. The gates of the harem, before 
which two sentinels had been placed, had been partly 
opened, and behind them I beheld crowds of women and 
children, clamouring and weeping as though they were 
just on the point of being led out to execution. There 
were women of all kinds — old and young, pretty and ugly, 
infants and adults, sweet young girls of fifteen and old 
toothless hags, apparently a hundred and fifty, and all were 



252 CAMPAIGNINa ON THE OXUS. 

crying and wringing their hands in the most despairing 
way. As it was difficult to make out what they wanted, 
the officer in command of the palace was sent for, who 
soon arrived on the spot with an interpreter. It appeared 
that they simply wished to leave the place and go into 
the town, pretending they were afraid to remain where 
they were. The officer having refused to grant this 
request, they next said they had nothing to eat or drink. 
The officer immediately ordered an immense quantity of 
pilaoff to he made ; and sent them in word that if they 
would hring pails and jars to the door, he would have 
water brought. They seemed to he satisfied with this ; 
and the water and pilaoff having heen sent in, they 
retired, and the doors were shut. The officer then gave 
orders that no one he allowed to enter, and moved off to 
place sentinels for the night. 

Among the crowd of weeping and distracted women, 
there was one who had remained calm. To her the others 
paid the greatest deference and obedience, and to her 
they seemed to look up for protection. She was about 
eighteen, of medium size, had a clear rosy complexion, 
showing her Caucasian origin, broad low forehead, round 
face, black hair, and large dark eyes. Her quiet firm- 
ness, tranquil air of authority, and noble appearance, 
convinced me, in spite of the old ragged khalat she wore 
over head and shoulders, that she was the sultana of the 
harem. She spoke to her half-demented companions in 
an authoritative, motherly manner, and conferred with the 
officer in a straightforward sensible way, that impressed 
us all very favourably. She turned her eyes towards me 
several times in a half-imploring way, as though she 
would have spoken to me. I never in my life before so 
much regretted my ignorance of an unknown tongue. I 



HEK DAEK EYES HAUNTED ME. 253 

looked again for my servants, with the intention of 
having Ak-Mamatoff speak to her, and ask her if I could 
do her any service ; but he had disappeared, and, as it 
turned out, had followed Kaufmann to the Orenburg 
camp, supposing I would be there. 

The dark eyes of this woman haunted me after she had 
disappeared. I could not forget her calm, majestic figure, 
as she stood in the midst of the enemies of her race and 
religion, with weeping women and children relying upon 
her for protection, and I determined to communicate with 
her and help her, if possible. Unfortunately I had never 
seen the officer in command of the palace before, and did 
not like sounding him, for fear of arousing his suspicions. 
Again and again I cursed old Ak-Mamatoff for not fol- 
lowing me, as he had been ordered ; but as it was pretty 
clear that he was not in the palace anywhere, I de- 
termined to try what I could do alone. 



254 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 



CHAPTER XL 

AN ADVENTURE IN THE HAKEM. 

I BEGAN to look about for another entry to the harem. 
I found one leading out of the principal court, but this, 
like the other, was guarded. 

After rummaging about a good while, passing through 
two small courts and suites of rooms directly behind the 
great court, I at last came upon a narrow, dark, and steep 
stairway, leading upward. I ascended, and found myself 
on the top of the exterior wall of the palace. The latter 
was built square up against the inside wall of the citadel, 
and upon looking over between the mud battlements, I 
found they had a height here on the outside of forty 
feet. Along the parapet I took my course, in the direction 
of the great square tower seen in the picture, which was 
within the walls of the harem. 

I soon reached a point overlooking the main court, and 
gazed down on Greneral Golovatchoff sleeping the sleep of 
a tired soldier. I was on a shoulder of the tower, which 
formed a platform about ten feet wide, nearly on a level 
with the high walls of the citadel. 

Listening attentively, a low murmur of voices came to 
my ears from above. There were sentinels up in the 
tower. 



A FLITTING FIGUEE. 255 

It was now near midnight, and the silent, sleeping city 
lay bathed in a flood of glorious moonlight. The place 
was transformed. The flat mud roofs had turned to 
marble ; the tall, slender minarets rose dim and indistinct, 
like spectre sentinels watching over the city. Here and 
there little courts and gardens lay buried in deepest 
shadow, from which arose the dark masses of mighty elms 
and the still and ghostly forms of the slender poplars. 
Far away, the exterior walls of the city, with battlements 
and towers, which in the misty moonlight looked as high 
as the sky and as distant as the horizon. It was no 
longer a real city, but a leaf torn from the enchanted 
pages of the Arabian Nights. 

I peered down into the harem, and saw a large court, half 
of which was lighted up by the moon, and the other half 
covered by a dark, cranelated shadow. Suddenly I saw a 
female figure come out of the shadow, flit across the moon- 
shine, and disappear on the other side, while a light could 
be seen glimmering in one of the rooms that were dispersed 
around the court. I entered the tower, and found a door 
which was locked by a padlock; but the posts were so loosely 
set in the wall, that I had no difficulty in taking them down 
without noise. Here there was a stone stairway, without 
balustrade, leading down into a little moonlit court, only 
separated by the wall of the harem from the one in which 
G-eneral Golovatchofi" was camped. Into this I descended, 
and found two passage ways, one leading to the main 
entrance, where were stationed the sentinels, and the 
other apparently into the interior rooms of the harem. 
This latter, after much deliberation and listening, I en- 
tered — not without a beating heart, however, for it was 
dark as pitch, and I had not the most remote idea of what 
the place was like, of the intricacies in which I might find 



256 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

myself involved, or of the pitfalls into whicli I might 
stumble. I might meet with armed men, still in hiding 
here, determined to guard the honour of the harem, and 
I knew what I might expect in that case; or I might 
simply lose myself and be unable to find my way out 
until morning, to be then discovered by the Eussians — a 
by no means pleasant ending to my adventure. 

Taking my revolver in one hand, and feeling my way 
with the other, I entered the corridor, which at first 
seemed to lead me in the direction of the large court, 
where I had seen figures flitting in the moonshine. 

Fifty feet of darkness, and I come to a door, which 
swings easily open, and I suddenly find myself out again 
in the moonlight. It is another very small court, and a 
corridor runs around it, which is separated from the court 
by a small partition, covered by a projecting roof, fifteen 
or twenty feet high. I proceed around this little court, 
keeping well in the shade, until, reaching another corridor, 
I enter, and find myself in a high room, into which a little 
moonshine penetrates through small square holes near the 
top. Here are five or six doors, leading in as many dif- 
ferent directions. I choose one, but must have lost all 
idea of direction in my various turnings and windings, for 
I am soon involved in a hopeless labyrinth of intricate 
passages and small rooms, which seem interminable. I 
had taken care to provide myself with a small piece of 
candle and with matches, and I lighted one occasionally 
to aid me in my search. It was without avail. Only the 
bare mud walls and floors, without a vestige of anything 
to indicate the presence of man or woman. 

The rooms were from eight to fifteen feet square, and 
must have been perfectly dark, even in daytime, as I 
could see no sign of window or any aperture by which the 



ON THE VEEGE OF DESTRUCTION". 257 

fight miglit have penetrated. Dungeons I would have 
believed them, had not the thin mud walls precluded that 
idea. A search afterwards made by Kaufmann proved 
that there were no dungeons in the palace of the Khan, 
the truth being that imprisonment as a punishment is a 
refinement of cruelty unknown at Khiva. They cut oJ0F 
people's noses, ears, and heads, whip them, stone them 
to death, but never imprison them. There is not a 
building in Khiva capable of holding a prisoner twenty- 
four hours. 

Once I stumbled into a large, low room, where there 
were five or six old-fashioned ovens of mud, such as may 
be seen at almost any farmhouse, several great iron 
kettles, each mounted on a little furnace, with various 
cooking utensils scattered about. This was probably the 
kitchen of the palace. 

Shortly afterwards I again found myself in a small 
room. The floor, I observe, is wet and muddy. I strike a 
match, and, to my horror, I find myself on the verge of a 
deep well, with a very low curb. 

Thoroughly frightened, I light my short piece of candle, 
determined to rather face any danger from concealed 
enemies than incur the risk of being precipitated into 
some horrible hole or pit. The well appeared to be about 
fifty feet deep, and contained water, as a bit of earth 
which I dropped into it proved. The room was small, 
close, and low, with a smell somehow suggestive of a 
charnel house, and I thought it was a strange place of all 
others for a well. 

The silence became oppressive, even fearful, and I began 

to have a strange feeling as if everything around me were 

unreal. I was evidently far away from the inhabited 

portion of the harem, and I had lost all idea of its 

19 



258 CA.MPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

direction. I rose and again commenced the search, this 
time taking my lighted piece of candle. But I soon had 
reason to doubt whether light was not more dangerous 
than darkness. I enter a small room, and, looking round, 
perceive in one corner a pile of black earth, which some- 
how excited my curiosity. Following a kind of blind 
impulse, I stoop down and pick up a handful ; but I drop 
it in terror — it is gunpowder. Quickly retreating through 
two or three rooms, until I have put a safe distance 
between me and the dangerous compound, I lean against 
a wall, weak with fear. I think of the carelessness of the 
Khivans in handling powder, as shown in the way in 
which large quantities of it were left lying around in the 
palace of Hazar-Asp; and here I had been wandering about, 
striking matches, and throwing down the still burning 
ends, for an hour. There was enough powder in that 
little room to blow the whole palace to atoms. And then 
the thought occurred to me that the Khan might have 
laid a plan for blowing up the place, as is often done in 
these countries. I thought of the last Chinese governor 
of Kuldja, who, foreseeing that the Mahomedhans would 
soon take the city by storm, assembled all his household, 
councillors, ministers, wives, and children, to debate upon 
what was best to be done, and who, while the discussion 
was at its hottest, hearing the shouts of the victors 
entering the city, gently laid down his pipe on the floor 
by his side, firing a train of powder connected with the 
magazine below, and putting an end to indecision and 
debate. At that moment this seemed to me the most 
uncomfortable story I had ever heard; I began to look 
upon my adventure as the most absurd, foolish, and 
ridiculous thing I had ever attempted, and to wonder 
how I could have ever been so idiotic as to undertake it. 



VOICES. 259 

Once more I took up ttie light, and commenced trying 
to find my way out, resolved to let the dark-eyed beauty 
of the harem take care of herself. I had, as it seemed, 
narrowly escaped death twice, and that was enough for 
one night. Getting out was not so easy, I found, as 
getting in. I wandered about for half an hour longer in 
the labyrinth of rooms without finding any outlet, and just 
began to think I was lost for good, when I suddenly came 
out into a wide corridor. I turned to the right, deter- 
mined, if I did not find the outlet here, to explore the 
other end, and in no case again involve myself in the 
intricacies of the small rooms. I soon came to the end of 
the corridor, and found a door, which was closed. 

Just as I was on the point of opening it, supposing I 
had at last found my way, I was arrested by a sound of 
voices on the other side. I instantly blew out my light, 
and set myself to listen with feelings of curiosity, pos- 
sibly not unmixed with fear. The voices were plainly 
those of females, and, after listening some minutes, I 
concluded there was no man among them. I had evi- 
dently reached the court of the harem just when least 
expecting it, and I was only separated from it by a thin 
wooden door. 

What surprised me, however, was that these voices were 
chattering and laughing in the gayest manner, although 
in suppressed tones : one would have thought it was a 
bevy of schoolgirls having a surreptitious midnight party 
unknown to the matron. The women who appeared at 
the doors in the early part of the evening were weeping 
and wringing their hands in the most disconsolate manner, 
and apparently with such good reason, that I was not all 
disposed to doubt the sincerity of their grief. These, on 
the contrary, were seemingly in the gayest and the 



260 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

merriest of humours. This puzzled me for a while ; but 
concluding that as they had at first expected to have their 
heads cut ofi", and had since been assured that they would 
not be harmed in any way, this gaiety was not, after all, 
so unnatural. 

I softly found the iron handle of the door, and tried to 
pull it open, without success. I then attempted pushing 
it, with the same result ; it was evidently fastened on the 
other side. 

I at last decided to knock. 

Those inside were apparently so occupied that they did 
not at first hear me, and I was obliged to repeat the 
knock several times before I succeeded in attracting their 
attention. Then the voices suddenly ceased, and there 
was a silence. 

I repeated the knock softly. 

In a moment I heard them whispering behind the door, 
and easily distinguished one or two suppressed giggles. 
Again I knocked, and this time there was a voice in answer 
— a soft, girlish voice that went rippling over the smooth 
syllables of the Tartar tongue like a brook over stones. 

I could not understand a word; but it was not hard 
to suppose she was asking who was there. I answered, 
•'' Aman " — " peace," or " peace be with you " — the uni- 
versal salutation in such cases, inwardly consigning Ak- 
Mamatofif to the lowermost regions of the Inferno, for 
having disappeared when I needed him most. There wa,s 
another smothered laugh, and then the same word, 
^^Aman f "Aman ?" repeated in an interrogatory manner, 
as though wishing to be assured of my peaceful intentions. 
Again I repeated the talismanic word, and then there 
was a rattle of bolts, the light door swung open, and 
I was greeted with a peal of laughter. 



BEFOEB HER AT LAST. 261 

I was never more astonishecl in my life. I had expected 
to see them all fly in terror, upon perceiying who I was, 
and that I would have all the difficulty in the world to 
reassure them. So far from manifesting any sign of fear, 
they acted, I thought, as though they expected me. 
There were six or eight of them; some old and ugly, 
some young and pretty, grouj)ed around the door in their 
strange costumes, and among them I noticed the one 
that had particularly attracted my attention at the gates 
of the harem. 

It was she who opened the door, and now stood holding 
a heavy stone lamp overhead, which cast a fitful light 
over the scene. She looked at me intently with her great 
dark eyes, and only smiled gravely when the others 
laughed. 

As soon as I recovered from my astonishment, I laughed 
in my turn, uttered a " salaam," and then asked for 
" cliai "■ — tea. They instantly understood, and the one I 
have spoken of as queen, stepped forward, took my hand 
in hers, and led me into a very small court, about eight 
feet square, and out of that into the moonshine, followed 
by the whole of the company, chattering in an excited 
manner. We were in the grand court of the harem. 

It was very large for Khiva — about 150 feet long by 
40 wide. There were a succession of great high porches, 
such as I have already described, all along the southern 
side, and dispersed along the centre three or four very 
large kibitkas or tents, set on circular platforms of 
brick. The scene was strange and beautiful by moon- 
light. 

I had only time to glance at these things, for my fair 
conductress led me into one of these porches, and, open- 
ing a door, ushered me into a large room behind it. 



262 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

She motioned me to a pile of cushions, and proceeded 
to light five or six lamps of the same kind that she 
carried, which were disposed in niches around the walls. 
Then taking a teapot, she ran out with it, giving at the 
same time some orders to the other women, some of whom 
went out with her, while others came in, sat down, and 
looked at me, exchanging remarks seemingly about my 
personal aj)pearance. 

For my own part, I sat and looked around me, lost in 
astonishment. The room in which I found myself was 
ten feet wide, twenty long, and twelve high : parts of the 
ceiling were painted in a variety of rude designs, in crude 
colours, like the treasure-room of the Khan. One wall 
was entirely covered from floor to ceiling with shelves 
of fanciful woodwork, which were stocked with cups 
and bowls of all sizes and colours, pots, teapots, and 
vases. As I learned on the morrow, these were, for 
the most part, specimens of the finest old china por- 
celain, and they were ranged side by side with the cheap, 
showily-gilded ware of Russian make, which, in the eyes 
of the women of the harem, was in all probability equally 
valuable. 

The room presented an appearance of the greatest 
disorder. The floor was strewn with carpets, cushions, 
coverlets, shawls, robes, and khalats, thrown about in 
confusion, together with many household utensils, some 
arms, another English double-barrelled hunting rifle, with 
empty cartridges, percussion caps, and two or three 
guitars. All of these things, seen by the light of the 
lamps disposed around the wall, presented a curious spec- 
tacle. Everything showed preparations for flight, and that 
the most valuable efi'ects had already been removed. 

While thus looking about, trying to assure myself that 



TEA WITH THE SULTANA. 268 

it was not all a dream, my hostess returned with a steam- 
ing teapot, which she put down on the floor before me. 
Some of the other women brought in bread, apricots, and 
sweetmeats. She then asked me by signs if I wished to 
wash my hands, and led me to the other end of the room, 
where there was a square hole sunk in the floor, forming 
a kind of basin. Taking an elegantly-shaped pitcher or 
ewer, made of copper, without a handle, but with a long 
slender curved spout, she poured water on my hands, 
and afterwards gave me a towel to dry them — all this in 
the most kindly, officious manner. Cups were taken 
down from the shelves, and she poured out tea, first for 
me and then for everybody else, herself included, and 
watched me while I drank it with a strange, eager 
interest. I began to think my first supposition that she 
had some favour to ask of me was right, and, as the 
sequel proved, I was not mistaken. 

Looking around on the group, I found it composed 
of eight in all. Of these three were horribly ugly old 
hags, three moderately good-looking middle-aged or 
young women, and one very pretty one, besides my 
hostess, who was by far the most interesting, from her 
superior intelligence, exquisite grace of movement, and 
that undefinable air of superiority which distinguished 
her from the ordinary beings around her. She wore 
a short jacket of green silk, embroidered with gold 
thread, a long chemise of red silk, fastened on the throat 
with an emerald, slightly open on the bosom, and reach- 
ing below the knees, wide trousers, fastened at the 
ankles, and embroidered boots. She wore no turban, and 
her hair was wound about her well-shaped head in 
heavy glossy braids. Curious earrings, composed of many 
little pendants of pearls and turquoises, hung from her 



264 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

ears, and heavy, solid silver bracelets without joint or 
spring, of a construction I never saw anywhere else, en- 
circled her wrists. They were of solid silver traced with 
gold, about an inch wide and a quarter of an inch thick, 
the shape of a letter C, with the space of half an inch 
between the two ends. As I afterwards learned, they are 
slipped on the wrist by a tedious and sometimes difficult 
operation. 

She now half-knelt, half-sat on the ground before me, 
watching me with her brown eyes in a way that was 
exceedingly embarrassing, while I sipped my tea and 
disposed of a large quantity of sweetmeats. What was 
going to happen next ? What should I do in the almost 
utter impossibility of talking to them? were the questions 
I was turning over in my mind. Judging by the eager 
manner in which my fair friend watched me, she was 
thinking of the same thing, and was trying to hit upon 
some plan of communication ; while the others sat around 
and watched us, as though expecting to hear us commence 
a fluent and familiar conversation. 

At last I thought of the device of asking them their 
names as a means of starting it. " Fatima ?" I asked, 
pointing to her. She understood instantly, shook her 
head, then pointed to one of the old women, by which I 
understood the latter's name was Fatima. She then 
said, " Zuleika," pointing to herself. In this manner I 
learned the name of each of them in turn. 

Having got on so well thus far, I decided to launch 
out into a more general conversation. "Urus ma 
Yakshe ?" I ask. " Are the Kussians good ?" " Yoke — 
yolce — yohe " — " No — no — no — " — with gestures of 
dislike. 

[ was somewhat taken aback by this, imagining that 



FAEEWELL. 265 

they did not know I was not a Eussian, and thinking that 
as I was their guest, it was pretty plain speaking. 

However, I determined to remove at once that un- 
favourable impression, if it existed, and continued : 
" ilJTm Urus yoke " — " I am not Eussian " — to which they 
eagerly answered, " ¥es, yes " — " we know," " we know." 

This again astonished me, and for a moment I did not 
know what to make of it. 

I may as well remark here, that the presence of a 
stranger was soon known to the Khivans ; and I afterwards 
learned that I was suspected by them of being an English 
agent, sent out by the English government, as Lieutenant 
Shakspeare was in 1840, during the expedition of General 
Perovsky. This fact accounted for my reception this 
evening. The Khan had fled, they had been pre- 
vented from leaving the palace by their own servants, 
and the poor things now looked to the stranger for pro- 
tection. 

I gave them to understand, as well as I could, that they 
had nothing to fear from the Eussians ; and after a con- 
versation, principally in signs, which lasted about two 
hours, I left them, giving each a small present as a token 
of remembrance, and then withdrew. 

They conducted me to the door by which I had entered, 
and when I made them understand that I could not find 
my way out alone, my hostess conducted me to the little 
court into which I had first descended from the large 
tower. Here I took leave of her, and mounted the stone 
stairs. I turned around at the top, before entering the 
tower, she kissed hands to me, and then disappeared in 
the dark corridor. 

I found my way back into the court, where General 
Golovatchofi" was asleep, and throwing myself on the floor 



266 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

of the porch, on a piece of carpet beside an officer, was 
soon sound asleep. 

The next morning, when food was sent into the harem 
for its inhabitants, it was found to be empty. The women 
had escaped ! 



"THE WOMEN HAVE ESCAPED!" 267 



CHAPTER XII. 

THE HAREM BY DAYLIGHT. 

Naturally, I did not think it necessary next day 
to report my adventure to General Kaufmann, and 
he will now learn of it prohably for the first time. 
I hope he will excuse my not having made my report 
earlier, in consideration of the peculiar circumstances 
of the case. 

" The women have escaped ! " were about the first 
words I heard upon opening my eyes next morning. 
The officer in command of the palace, Captain Eeisveh, 
had only learned the fact upon sending a quantity of 
pilaoff into the harem for breakfast. A cordon of Eussian 
soldiers around, the doors all guarded ; how, asked, every- 
body, had the women managed to escape ? Conjecture 
was rife ; of course, I was no more able than anybody else 
to give the proper explanation. The report of the affair, 
presented to Kaufmann, suggested that they had got 
out through a sewer; a task somewhat difficult of ac- 
complishment, seeing that no such thing as a sewer is 
known in Khiva. 

In the course of the day, old Said Emir Ul-Umar, the 
Khan's uncle, reported that the women had taken refuge 
with him ; and as there was no particular reason for 



268 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

keeping them prisoners, Kaufmann allowed tliem to 
remain there. 

Several of us now went into the harem, to make 
a formal investigation of its contents. We enter, 
by the heavy gates before spoken of, into a high, wide 
corridor. The walls are of mud, and light wooden 
beams support the flat roof, which is made of small 
sticks of wood laid closely together, and covered with 
earth. After various twists and turns, we emerge into 
the large court of the harem. Yery different it looked 
now, in day-time, from what it did in the pale white 
moonlight of the night before Then it had been just 
such a picture as one might have conjured up from 
reading ' Lalla Eookh ;' now it was a shabby-looking, 
dilapidated, miserable court, surrounded by heavy mud 
walls, that one shower of rain, such as we often have 
in Europe, would reduce to a heap of earth. 

"We enter the room where I had been so handsomely 
entertained the night before. Everything is in much the 
same condition in which I left it. We visit the rest of 
the rooms in succession. They are like the first one, 
except that there is less pretension about them. A 
heap of khalats, bed-coverlets, womens' clothing, cooking 
utensils, household implements, water-cans, ewers of 
copper and brass, of a very elegant shape, perhaps a 
guitar, with brass strings, and a spinning-wheel or two, 
all tumbled in confusion about the floor, is what usually 
meets our gaze. 

Upon searching closely, we found many little toilet 
articles of the women, although they had probably carried 
most of these things off with them. There were small 
looking-glasses, with the mercury half rubbed off; coarse 
wooden combs ; small phials of henna, and perfumery 



OFFENBACH IN KHIVA. 269 

with a strange penetrating scent, unlike anything we 
meet in Europe; and pots of liash-Tieesli. Then again 
there were storerooms, in which all these things were 
heaped up in great quantities; and in one of them 
were several small iron chests, provided with heavy- 
solid locks, in which were probably kept the jewels of the 
women. They were now open and empty. In short, the 
appearances were that everything of any great value had 
been removed. The Khan must have foreseen the fall of 
his capital several days before it really took place, and 
therefore had plenty of .time to remove and secrete his 
money and jewels. I am only surprised that he left so 
many valuable effects. For instance, there were two fine 
double-barrel English hunting rifles, and some music- 
boxes that were probably highly prized by the women, 
one of which, by-the-way, played an air from the 'Belle 
Helene.' I can only account for this, and the fact of his 
having left his women here a prey to the conqueror, on 
the supposition that he had decided to remain in his palace 
and throw himself on Kaufmann's mercy, until, panic- 
stricken by General Verevkin's bombardment, he had 
fled, without taking time to look after either the one or 
the other. 

Besides a number of Cashmere shawls, the most valuable 
thing we found was a fine collection of old China por- 
celain, numbering about a thousand pieces. The col- 
lection consisted of bowls and cups, varying in size from 
that of a large teacup to that of a large bowl holding 
a gallon. They were all of the finest kind, mostly blue 
and white, but some few were flowered in a beautiful 
red and browr. They were heaped up indiscriminately 
with cheap but showily-gilded ware of Eussian make. 

It was a pity to see all this fine porcelain — the pride 



270 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

and joy of the women of the harem, the hoarding, pro- 
bably of generations — turned over to the soldiers to be 
broken and lost. Many of them, it is true, found 
their way into the hands of the officers, who knew their 
value, and I confess to having bought several fine speci- 
mens that Ak-Mamatoff had found — where they were not 
lost. 

An inventory was taken of everything else; and carpets, 
khalats, coverlets, clothing — everything of the slightest 
value, found here or in other parts of the palace, was 
seized to be sold for the benefit of the soldiers. Only 
a few old rugs, carpets, and clothes were left lying 
about the court, which presented but a sorry spectacle ; 
and then the doors were locked, and we left the harem 
alone in its desolation. 

A day or two afterwards, the palace and town were 
definitely abandoned, except by a small body of troops 
that remained in the palace to guard it and preserve 
order. 

Kaufmann pitched his camp in and about a large 
garden belonging to the Khan, a mile from the city. 

This garden is the summer residence of the Khan. It 
is about six acres in extent, and is inclosed by a heavy 
mud wall some fifteen feet high. It is planted with 
apricot, peach, and plum trees, and, besides, boasts seve- 
ral very beautiful elms and two fine avenues of young 
poplars. A number of little canals that run through it 
irrigate the ground, and l^£ford a regular supply of fresh 
water to the trees, and feed two or three little ponds 
under the elms. The summer palace is in one corner, 
and is far more comfortable than the one in town. 

Imagine a large rectangular structure, a hundred yards 
long by fifty wide ; the tops of the walls surmounted, like 



LODGINGS IN A PALACE. 271 

a feudal castle, by battlements. You enter from the 
garden by a narrow door cut in the wall, and find yourself 
in a large court or yard, in the middle of which are four 
large elms, whose roots are bathed by a little pond of 
water. On the right, a high porch, opening to the north, 
behind which is, as usual, a cool dark room, very pleasant 
this hot weather. Above this porch is another ; and above 
that still another, into which the elms extend their long 
arms. 

Behind this series of porches and rooms there is 
another and smaller court, with its little pool of water 
and two large elms. This is the court of the harem ; and 
a very pleasant place it is. There are small suites of 
rooms around three sides of it. On the fourth, which is 
the sunny side, tall elms just outside the wall lift their 
huge cloud-like masses of green, affording a cool, lux- 
urious shade. Each of these suites of rooms is composed 
of an apartment below and two above, with a little porch 
or balcony looking out on the court. In the railing and 
woodwork of these balconies we saw the work of the 
Eussian prisoners, who were principally employed about 
this palace and garden. 

The Grand Duke Nicholas took up his residence on one 
side of this court ; Prince Eugene on the other. Outside 
of the palace in the garden were two small summer- 
houses, each in the shade of a clump of elms. These were 
occupied by General Kaufmann and General Golovatchoff; 
the rest of the officers pitched their tents wherever 
they could find room for them beneath the fruit-trees. 

My comrade Chertkoff and myself decided to take 
rooms in the palace, and accordingly installed ourselves 
in a porch on the second story, where we found two very 
dark, cool rooms ; while the porch itself was shaded by 



272 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS, 

the thick foliage of the elms. Here we put down our 
carpets and our pieces of felt, arrange a few coverlets our 
people have found in the other palace for our beds, and 
make ourselves at home. In these quarters we had all 
the advantage of any air that might be stirring, while 
we were protected from the sun by the thick shade of the 
elms. By stepping up into the porch above, some forty 
feet from the ground, we had a splendid view of the city 
and of the surrounding oasis; beyond which, over the 
thick foliage of the trees, we could see the yellow gleaming 
sands of the dreary desert. 

The only drawback to this palatial residence was the 
stairway. I do not think that even in its palmiest days 
it would have compared favourably with that of the 
Tuileries or St. James's. It was built of mud, purely and 
simply, which, whatever may be its other qualities, is not 
a durable material when subjected to the trampling of 
many feet. The steps were nearly worn out, and some of 
them had entirely disappeared when we took possession. 
In two or three days there was nothing left of them, and 
the descent from our rooms down a very steep and dusty 
inclined plane became a matter of considerable peril and 
difficulty. 

As for food, Ak - Mamatoff did our cooking ; and 
chickens, mutton, melons, apricots, grapes, and peaches 
were to be had in abundance. Every morning hot 
wheaten cakes and fresh milk were brought us, and even 
ice. The Khivans store a large quantity of ice every 
year, which they seem to appreciate at its proper value, 
judging from the price they asked for it. It will be seen 
that we were by no means so badly off in Khiva as might 
be at first supposed. 

For a day or two Kaufmann heard nothing from the 



KETUEN, OR BE DEPOSED. 273 

Khan, At length information was obtained that he had 
fled to Imukchir with his faithful Turcomans. Kaufmann 
instantly wrote him a letter, informing him, that if he 
would return to Khiva and surrender himself, he would be 
treated with all the honours due to a sovereign ; but that 
if he declined this invitation, somebody else would be made 
Khan in his stead. As it was not in the views of 
Kaufmann to permanently occupy the country, he wished 
to re-establish order and tranquillity as soon as possible. 
In the meantime Atta-Djan, the Khan's youngest 
brother, who had been in prison for the last year, was a 
candidate for the throne, and had already pleaded his 
claim to Kaufmann. Had the Khan not acted upon the 
hint conveyed in Kaufmann's letter, and returned, there 
is little doubt that the Kussian General would have 
dethroned him. 

20 



274 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 



CHAPTEE XIII. 

KAUFMANN AND THE KHAN. 

On the 14th of June the Khan came back to Khiva. 
, accompanied by his followers, and was conducted into the 
presence of the conqueror. 

Kaufmann received him under the elms before his tent. 
Here there was a raised platform of brick, on which 
carpets were spread, and tables and chairs set. On this 
platform took place the first interview between Kaufmann 
and the Khan. 

As soon as the latter 's arrival was announced, we all 
gathered around Kaufmann, curious to see the despot 
about whom we had heard so much. He rode humbly 
enough now into his own garden, with about twenty 
followers ; and when he reached the end of a short avenue 
of young poplars, leading up to General Kaufmann's tent, 
dismounted from his richly-caparisoned horse, and came 
forward on foot, taking off his tall sheepskin hat, and 
bowing low as he approached. He ascended the little 
platform, where he had probably often received the res- 
pectful homage of his own subjects, and knelt down before 
Kaufmann, who was seated on a camp-stool. He then 
retired a little further on the platform, which was covered 
with probably one of his own carpets, and remained 




:y \ i' ,v 1 



MUHAMED RAHIM BOGADUR KHAN. From the 'Graphic:- 



ENTER THE KHAN. 275 

kneeling. It should be observed, that the Khivans do not 
sit cross-legged like the Turks, but in a kind of half- 
kneeling posture, like that of the Kirghiz, which I have 
already described, and that it is in this posture they eat, 
talk, and confer. In kneeling, therefore, the Khan did 
Qot adopt a posture of humility, but simply one of respect, 
A man about thirty, with a not unpleasant expression 
of countenance, when not clouded by fear as at present ; 
large fine eyes, slightly oblique, aquiline nose, a very thin 
black-beard and moustache, and a heavy sensual mouth. 
Physically he is dec.dedly powerful, fully six feet three 
inches high, broad-shouldered in proportion, and weigh- 
ing, I should say, between 250 and 300 pounds. He was 
dressed in a long khalat, or tunic, of bright blue silk, 
and the tall sheepskin cap of the Khivans. Humbly 
he sat before Kaufmann, scarcely daring to look him 
in the face. Finding himself at last at the feet of the 
Governor of Turkistan — the famous Yarim-Padshah — 
his feelings must not have been of the most re- 
assuring nature. The two men formed a curious contrast ; 
Kaufmann was not more than half as large as the Khan, 
and a smile, in which there was apparent a great deal of 
satisfaction, played over his features, as he beheld Kussia's 
historic enemy at his feet. I thought there never was a 
more striking example of the superiority of mind over 
brute force, of modern over ancient modes of warfare, 
than was presented in the two men. In the days of 
chivalry, this Khan with his giant form, and stalwart 
arms, might have been almost a demi-god ; he could have 
put to flight a regiment single-handed, he would probably 
have been a very Coeur de Lion, and now, the meanest 
soldier in Kaufmann's army was more than a match for 
him. 



276 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

" Well, Khan," said Kaufmann, smilingly, " you see, I 
have come to see you at last, as I wrote you I would, 
three years ago." 

Khan. Yes ; Allah has willed it. 

Kaufmann. No, Khan, there you are mistaken. Allah 
had very little to do with it. You have brought it upon 
yourself.* If you had listened to my counsel three years 
ago, and acceded to my just demands, you would never 
have seen me here. In other words, if you had done as I 
advised you, Allah would not have willed it. 

Khan. The pleasure of seeing the Yarim-Padshah is so 
great, that I could wish nothing changed. 

Kaufmann (with a laugh). The pleasure, I assure you, 
Khan, is mutual. But now let us proceed to business. 
What are you going to do? What do you wish to 
do? 

Khan. That I leave to you to decide in your great 
wisdom. If I could wish for anything, it would be to 
become a subject of the Great White Tsar. 

Kaufmann. Yery well. You shall not be his subject, 
but his friend, if you will. It only depends upon yourself. 

OThe Great White Tsar does not wish to deprive you of 
your throne. He only wishes to prove to you, that he is 
too great a Tsar to be trifled with, which I hope he has 
shown to your satisfaction. The Great White Tsar is too 
great a Tsar to take revenge. Having shown you his 
might, he is ready to forgive you, and let you retain your 
throne under conditions, which you and I, Khan, will 
discuss another day. 

Khan. I know I have done very wrong in not 
granting the just demands of the Kussians, but I was 
ignorant and ill-advised ; I will know better in the future. 
I thank the Great White Tsar and the illustrious Yarim- 



FACE TO FACE. 277 

Padshah for their great kindness and forbearance to me, 
and will always be their friend. 

Kaufmann. You may return now, Khan, to your 
capital. Ke-establish your government, administer justice, 
and preserve order. Tell your people to resume their 
occupations and their work, and they will not be molested. 
Tell them that the Kussians are neither brigands nor 
robbers, but honest men; that they have not come to 
carry off their wealth, nor violate their women. 

After mutual questions about each other's health, and 
wishes for each other's prosperity, expressed in the most 
flattering language, the Khan retired. He then returned 
to the city, and resumed his ordinary occupations. He 
did not, however, take up his residence in the palace — 
which was, to tell the truth, scarcely habitable — but 
passed his nights with Said Emir Ul-Umar. 

The first visit was followed by several others during 
the next few days, at one of which the Khan assisted, with 
a younger brother, at the review of the Kussian troops. 
It was amusing and interesting to watch the curious and 
astonished expression with which he looked at the filing- 
past of the Eussian troops. Their solid, regular tramp, 
and the short, quick, shout which they uttered without 
turning their heads, when addressed by Kaufmann, gave 
them to his eyes a something mysterious and diabolical. 
He reminded me of a half- frightened, half- curious child, 
watching some strange thrilling Christmas pantomime. 
These then, he must have thought, are the men, who are 
conquering Central Asia : before a handful of whom, 
whole Mussulman hosts went down at Samarcand like 
grass before the scythe ; these the devils, twelve hundred 
of whom took Tashkent, a town of a hundred thousand 
inhabitants by storm with a loss of half their number, 



278 CAMPAIGMInGOI^ IHE OXUS. 

before whose unholy breath the religion of Islam is dis- 
appearing from the earth. 

Under Kaufmann's instructions, a divan or council of 
state was formed to discuss ways and means for raising 
money for the payment of a war indemnity which Kaufmann 
proposed to levy. This council was composed of the Khan, 
and three of his ministers, together with three Eussian 
officers, among whom was Colonel Ivanoff. This council 
was not only to find ways and means for providing the 
war indemnity, but to advise the Khan on the general 
government of his kingdom. The Khan entered into these 
arrangements with great interest, and showed much zeal 
in carrying out the necessary measures. 

The truth is, he had very little experience in affairs 
of state, and the subject had for him all the charm 
of novelty. He had been in the habit of leaving the 
direction of state affairs to one of his ministers, Divan- 
Begi Mat-Murad, of whom more hereafter. He displayed 
a childish eagerness in the execution of Kaufmann's 
orders, that sometimes seriously compromised their effect. 
Kaufmann related to me an anecdote about him which 
illustrates this. Having decided to emancipate the 
slaves, he wrote the Khan a letter one day, informing 
him of his decision, and requesting him to issue a procla- 
mation to that effect. The last part of the letter contained 
advice and counsel as to the best means of carrying out 
the measure, and among other things, requested the Khan 
to make arrangements with the governors of the different 
provinces to have the proclamation read all over the 
Khanate the same day, in order not to give the Uzbegs 
an opportunity for maltreating the Persians. The Khan, 
however, having read the first part of the letter, 
immediately, without stopping to finish it, wrote out a 



THE KHAN OBEDIENT. 279 

proclamation, and ordered it to be proclaimed through the 
streets next day by a herald, and then went to Kaufmann, 
with childish eagerness, to tell him what he had done, and 
show him how prompt he was to obey his wishes. 

" But," said Kaufmann, " did you not read the last 
part of my letter ?" " No," said the Khan, " I did not 
know it was necessary." " Why, yes," said Kaufmann, 
" with us the last part of a letter is often the best. In 
it I advised you not to issue your proclamation for a few 
days yet." 

" Oh," replied the Khan, " I did not know that ; I will 
go back, read the letter through to the end, and give orders 
not to issue the proclamation until the time you have fixed." 

He soon got accustomed, however, to Eussian ways of 
doing business, and manifested a great deal of intelligence 
and good sense in the direction of affairs. It is probable 
that having once tasted of the delights of governing, he will 
not again readily yield up his authority to another man. 

Little satisfactory information has I believe been 
obtained as yet by the Kussians, regarding the adminis- 
tration and revenues of the Khan's government, or the 
resources and population of the country. One peculiarity 
in the administration of the government is that, with 
the exception of the Mullahs, and a small police force, 
employed to preserve order and to punish offenders, 
few of the officers and functionaries of the government 
receive regular pay. They all, from the highest to the 
lowest, make their living out of the perquisites apper- 
taining to their offices, a system which of course gives 
rise to a great deal of corruption and thieving on the 
part of officials. 

The whole financial department of the Khan's govern- 
ment seems to have been in the most inextricable and 



280 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

hopeless confusion, According to Mr. Kulin, who de- 
Yoted a good deal of time to investigating the affairs of 
the Khanate, the whole revenue of the state was about 
90,000 tillas, or £45,000 English money; but the ac- 
counts were in such hopeless confusion, that it was im- 
possible to form anything like a correct estimate of the 
amount of taxes really collected. Nor was it ascertained 
what portion of the revenue fell to the Khan himself. 
Judging by his simple, frugal manner of life, I should 
say he received but a small portion of it. In his way 
of living, he could not have spent the tenth of this 
sum; and although he has a large household, and three 
or four hundred slaves, he has a great deal of land which 
probably brought him in a large revenue. Luxury, in 
our sense of the word, is unknown to him. The only 
expensive luxury he could well indulge in, was a stable full 
of fine Turcoman horses, and an occasional new wife. 
He did not, I believe, keep a standing army. 

This revenue, whatever it may have been, was raised 
by the imposition of several different kinds of taxes. 

First among these was the ziaket, or customs duties, 
which was collected by Mat-Murad. 

As nearly as could be made out from Mat-Murad's 
books, the duty on Eussian imports, at 2^ per cent., pro- 
duced about £2750 ; and those from Bokhara and other 
countries, about £2150 ; £4900 in all. Only half this 
sum was turned over to the Khan. Whether Mat-Murad 
simply pocketed the other half, or whether it was allowed 
him by the Khan for farming the revenue, and the 
expenses of collecting it, is not known. It is, however, 
highly probable that Mat-Murad simply stole this sum 
from the government. 

In addition, a tax was levied upon the interior trade of 



TAXATION IN KHIVA, 281 

the country, wliicli was likewise collected by Mat-Murad. 
This tax was simply assessed upon the shopkeepers in a 
general way, according to the size of the shop and value 
of the wares it was supposed to contain, and varied from 
a shilling to £2 or £3. 

Next was the salguit, or tax upon land and houses, 
which was collected by two ministers of the Khan, called 
the Mekhter, and the Kush-begi. It was levied at the 
rate of 2s. per acre. 

The Kara-Kalpaks paid at the rate of a sheep in every 
hundred, a bullock in every twenty, and a camel in every 
six. The Kirghiz who came to the bazaar were charged 
for every camel a shilling, and the same amount for every 
ten sheep. 

In addition to these there was what might be called a 
harvest tax. The government assessors went around just 
before harvest, and agreed with the proprietors on the 
amount of tax each field should pay. 

It was as impossible to determine the exact population 
of the Khanate as to get the truth regarding other 
matters connected with it. And it will probably be some 
time before the exact number is known. Even in Central 
Asian towns, long under Eussian rule, it has been found 
impossible to get a correct census, owing to the suspicious 
nature of the people. Taking the census would drive 
them to revolt when nothing else would. The general 
impression was that the whole population of the Khanate 
was about 500,000, exclusive of the Kirghiz of the Kyzil- 
Kum, over whom the Khan exerted an uncertain sway. 

The roads and canals are kept up by the government. 
A part of the land tax is put aside for that purpose. 
The land tax may be worked out instead of being paid 
in monev. 



282 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

The tenure of land in Khiva is much the same as in all 
Mahomedan countries. The land is supposed to belong 
to the state, or rather to the Mahomedan religion, and is 
not held as freehold. Believers cannot, however, be easily 
deprived of the land they hold as long as they pay their 
taxes, and cultivate it. But if the land should remain 
unoccupied for three years, it may be seized by the first 
comer, whose claim is then nearly as good as that of his 
predecessor. But if the previous owner should appear 
within a reasonable time, and offer to pay for growing 
crops and improvements, the owner de facto is obliged to 
give him possession. The reclamation of wild lands, is 
however, considered of such importance in Central Asia to 
the general weal, that a freehold may always be acquired 
by irrigating any uncultivated, unproductive ground, and 
planting it with trees. 



THE KHAN STUDIES ASTRONOMY. 283 



CHAPTEE XIV. 

AN INTERVIEW WITH THE KHAN. 

Lieutenant Serovatsky, the astronomer of the expedition, 
finding the garden in which the troops were encamped 
unfavourahle for astronomical ohservations, requested 
leave to occupy a room in the palace of the Khan in the 
city. Having obtained permission, he visited the palace 
twice a day, and passed the night there. The Khan 
manifested considerable curiosity about the instruments, 
and, Serovatsky having promised to explain them, the 
Khan appointed a day for his reception. Serovatsky 
invited me to accompany him. 

Having first sent in a present of a carpet and a revolver, 
the Lieutenant had his instruments removed into an inner 
court. Here we found the Khan on the stage-like plat- 
form, of which I have already spoken. The stage was 
uncarpeted. The Khan, I fancy, had few carpets left, 
and perhaps took a grim pleasure in thus displaying his 
poverty to the Eussians. We ascended the steps, and he 
motioned us to sit down, and offered us melons, bread, and 
tea. Then he intimated his desire to see the instruments. 
A large telescope was first shown him, but as we were 
completely shut in by the surrounding walls, it was im- 
possible to observe anything with it, except the sun. A 



284 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

darkened glass, and an eyeglass of suflScient power to 
show the spots on the sun, were put in. The Khan 
looked through the telescope, while Serovatsky explained 
the phenomena shown hy the instrument, hut this did 
not seem to interest the Khan, who prohahly would have 
been more pleased if the glass had been directed against 
terrestrial objects. Serovatsky next endeavoured to 
explain the use of the quadrant and mercurial horizon ; 
but his explanation seemed to bewilder the Khan to an 
alarming extent, although he evidently did his best to 
understand. He became much more interested when 
Serovatsky went on to explain that, although he were led 
blindfold to any city in the world, he could, if placed in a 
little court from which he might see the sun, tell with 
the quadrant what that city was. " I will tell you," 
said he, " that I am in Khiva, and not in Bokhara, 
or in Bokhara, and not in Samarcand." The Khan opened 
his eyes wide with astonishment, and seemed to regard 
the astronomer from this moment, as a magician or a 
sorcerer. At the same time he must have inwardly 
cursed Serovatsky as the dog of an unbeliever, who had, 
by his devilish arts, shown the Russians the way 
to his city of Khiva, which everybody had told him was 
inaccessible. The barometer seemed to interest him very 
much. When Serovatsky showed him his chronometers, 
large and small, the Khan took out his watch, a gold one, 
which he had received from Lord Northbrook, and com- 
pared the time. Although it was now about noon, the 
Khan's watch only marked six o'clock in the morning. 
Serovatsky having examined the watch, told him that it was 
a very good one. The instruments explained, the Khan 
began to exhibit considerable curiosity about me. Upon 
more than one occasion I observed that he looked towards 



" AKE YOU NOT ENGLISH, THEN ? » 285 

me in a peculiar and marked manner, and I was not sur- 
prised to find that Jhe afterwards intimated a desire to 
have a second interview with me. 

At this interview he began by asking from what 
country I came. 

" America," I replied. 

" Are you not English, then," he asked, with apparent 
astonishment — a question which confirmed my suspicion 
that his interest in me came from his supposition that I 
was an English agent. 

"No," I replied; "my country is much farther away." 

"How far?" 

" It is away over a great sea, 400 days' march of a camel." 

In amazement he asked how I managed to cross so wide 
a sea. 

I asked him if he had not seen the Perakhote — the 
steamboat of the Eussians on the Lower Oxus. He said 
he had heard of it, but had not seen it. I told him that a 
peraJchote would cross this sea in ten days ; and that they 
travelled just forty times as fast as a camel. I proceeded to 
inform him that it was my countrymen who had invented 
the perakhote ; and that they had likewise invented a rapid 
system of sending messages, so that you could despatch a 
message from Khiva to Bokhara in five minutes. This 
statement appeared to him too amazing to be believed, 
and I think he looked on me as a great liar. 

It is only since the fall of Khiva that the telegraph has 
been brought to Tashkent, and it is an invention of 
which very few Central Asiatics know anything. 

I next told him that it was the Americans who had 
invented the breech-loading rifles of the Eussians — hardly 
a gracious thing to do, seeing how severely he had suff'ered 
from the eifects of these same weapons. The Khan 



286 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

received this information with apparently great interest. 
He went on to ask me, if the Americans made many 
rifles ? what they cost ? and whether it would be diffi- 
cult to get some. Having given him the required infor- 
mation on these points, he next began to put me many 
questions about Frenghistan (France) and England. 

I drew a rough map on a piece of paper, showing the 
relative positions of France, Germany, England, Kussia. 
and India, and this he examined with minute attention. 
I told him that there had been a great war between 
Frenghistan and Germany, in which Frenghistan had 
been beaten, and obliged to pay a great sum of money. 
This touched him nearly, and he seemed to readily 
perceive the analogy between this case and his own. He 
asked if such were the way people made war in the West. 
I assured him that it was, and that besides, they did not 
kill their prisoners, nor treat them with cruelty, nor sell 
them into slavery; and that they did not burn nor 
pillage their enemy's country. They had a more effective 
way of accomplishing the same end. When I told him that 
the people of Frenghistan counted 40,000,000, and the 
people of Germany about the same, and that each had 
an army of 1,000,000 in the field, he seemed amazed 
beyond expression ; and doubtless it was some consolation 
for him to find that a country as large as Frenghistan 
could suffer humiliation as well as himself. 

He now asked me if Eussia was a very great country. 
I told him that Eussia was larger than England, France, 
Germany, and India put together; and that the Eussians 
numbered twice as many as the English, or the French. 

What seemed to astonish him most about America was, 
that the Khan only reigned for four years, and that another 
Khan was then elected in his place. 



CHARACTER OF THE KHAN. 287 

" Why does the Khan allow another man to be chosen 
in his stead ?" he asked with surprise. 

" Because the law commands it ; and if he did not 
submit, the people would compel him." I added that 
even I might, on my return home, be chosen as Khan. 

He looked at me with an incredulous air, as if this 
eventuality, at least, was one not likely to happen. He 
then asked me if the English and the Eussians were 
good friends. I assured him that they were ; and that the 
Great White Tsar had just betrothed his daughter to the 
son of the Queen of England ; and that the English 
Lion and Kussian Bear now lie down together like lambs. 
I permitted myself this little stretch, because I knew it 
would be impossible to explain to the Khan that there 
could be any diversity of interest between two countries 
with such a bond of union between them. 

The Khan is by no means unprepossessing in appear- 
ance. He has a pleasant, genial expression of face, and 
nothing whatever of a blood-thirsty, or cruel look. I 
found him courteous and affable. At the same time he 
has something of a royal air — a quiet self-possession, and a 
tranquil air of authority which shows the man accustomed 
to implicit obedience ; and he had an off hand way of dis- 
missing you that would have done credit to the Great 
White Tsar himself. On the whole, I should say he is 
disposed to act kindly. The Eussian prisoners gave him 
a very good character. He would stop and speak to them 
pleasantly, when he passed them at work, and often enter 
in conversation with them. But, unquestionably, he showed 
himself during the present campaign both cowardly and 
ungrateful. He never commanded his forces in person ; 
he fled at sight of the Eussians ; and he showed the basest 
ingratitude toward the Turcomans ; as will afterwards be 

seen. 

21 



288 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

During the whole time of my interview with him, an 
attendant brought in a pipe every five minutes. He 
took one whiff, and then handed it back again; when 
the tobacco was renewed, and the pipe once more handed 
to him. I learned that he continued smoking in this way 
the entire day. While the Kussians were at Khiva, he 
passed his time in the following way. In the morning he 
rode to the Russian camp, where he held a divan or council 
of state, presided over by Colonel Ivanoff. Here he passed 
an hour or two, in discussing affairs of state. He then 
returned to his palace, and breakfasted, after which he 
administered justice for two or three hours. He heard 
all kinds of cases, from the most important questions oi 
property, down to a trivial quarrel between man and wife. 
In the afternoon, when he had taken tea, he retired to 
the harem to sleep. When evening came, he again rode out, 
sometimes paying a visit to General Kaufmann, and 
sometimes going into the country, being generally accom- 
panied by three, or four, and sometimes by as many as 
twenty of his followers. He was always careful to return 
any salutes that were given him ; and I never saw him 
neglect to acknowledge one, whether it came from a 
Eussian, or from the humblest of his own subjects. 

The Khan has only four wives ; but he has, I believe, 
about a hundred slave women ; he seems to have some 
from each of the races that are found in his dominions. 
The exact number I did not ascertain ; the Khan himself 
one could not ask, as it is considered extremely unpolite, 
in Central Asia, to make any mention to a man of his 
wife, or wives. The womens' way of life is very simple 
and frugal. There is no rivalry between them about 
dress ; and even civilised women might take a lesson 
from them in more respects than one. They spend most 



THE KHIVAN CABINET. 280 

of their time at home, and pass nearly all the day in 
making clothes, heds, and carpets, for the family, and in 
tbeir household work. 

There were several ministers of state : Mat-Murad, Mat - 
Niaz, Jakub-Bei, and the Khan's uncle, Said Emir-Ul-Umar. 
Mat-Murad had been an AfFghan slave, and had belonged to 
the old Khan, by whom he was very much esteemed. He 
ingratiated himself into the favour of the young Khan, 
and when he came to the throne, succeeded in becoming 
his chief counsellor. He had a strong hatred of the 
Russians ; and it was by his advice that the Khan refused 
to accede to the Russian demands. He led the Khivan 
troops at the battle of Sheik- Arik ; and when the Khan 
fled, accompanied him in the flight. Kaufmann asked 
Mat-Niaz if his fellow minister, Mat-Murad, were able. 
" He is cunning, but not clever," was the reply. As 
soon as the Khan gave himself up, Mat-Murad was 
seized, separated from his master, and never allowed to 
see him again. He was afterwards sent to Kazala, where 
he still, I believe, remains in prison. 

Mat-Niaz, as well as Said-Emir, belonged to the peace 
party. He was a small, rather ugly man, with round, 
sharp eyes, thin beard, and a turned-up nose. He seemed 
very friendly towards the Russians ; and it was from him 
Kaufmann obtained the most, trustworthy information 
respecting the Khanate. He was about forty-five years 
of age. Jakub-Bei, is an old man, about sixty apparently. 
He is stout, and strongly-built, with a heavy, bull-dog 
face, and a short, thick nose ; and is blind of an eye. In 
some of his features he resembled the Turcomans, probably 
having some of their blood in his veins. Said-Umar I 
have already described. 

The Khan had two brothers ; one he greatly loved, the 



290 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

other as cordially detested. The latter had aspirations 
to the throne ; after the flight of the Khan, he offered 
himself, as will be remembered, to Kaufmann, as a 
candidate for the place vacated by his brother. 

I was told by some Kussian officers that some Khivan 
merchants at Kuna Urgench said the Khan used to obtain a 
large quantity of wine from Kussia every year, and that he 
was in the habit of getting very drunk. As no wine- 
bottles were found in the palace, however, and as the 
story itself seems very improbable, there can bo little 
doubt that it was a pure fiction. 



KHIVA FROM OUTSIDE. 291 



CHAPTEE XV. 

THE CITY OF KHIVA IN THE YEAR 1873. 

The exterior view of Khiva, from certain points, is strik- 
ing and peculiar. High walls, with battlements and 
towers ; a covered gate, with its heavy towers of defence ; 
the domes of the mosques and minarets, rising above the 
walls of the town ; these things seen against the western 
sky in the light of the setting sun, are very beautiful and 
picturesque ; but the agreeable impression made by its 
exterior disappears on entering the town itself. There 
are only three or four buildings in the whole place that 
make any attempt at architectural display ; the rest are 
all of clay, and present but a miserable appearance. 

There are two great walls ; an exterior and an in- 
terior one. The interior wall, with the part of the 
town it incloses, forms the citadel, and is a mile long by 
a quarter wide. Within this wall are the palace of the 
Khan, the great tower, several medresses, and, in fact, 
most of the public buildings. The wall is protected by 
three or four towers. It is of much older origin than the 
exterior one ; indeed, nobody seemed able to say at what 
precise date it was built. Probably it inclosed the whole 
town of Khiva at one time. The exterior, on the con- 
trarv, dates from a year so recent as 1842. In that year 



292 



CAMPAiaNINa ON THE OXUS. 



the reigning Khan, AUah-Kuli, was engaged in warfare 
with Bokhara; and built this wall as an additional 
defence to his capital. The diameter of the outer wall 
varies ° for in shape it is somewhat like an oyster-shell, 




( 





VIEW OF THE CITADEL. 

(^From a design by Feodoroff.) 



with the narrow end elongated and squared. The diameter 
at longest is a mile and a half; and at shortest a mile. 
In height the wall is, on the average, twenty-five feet, 
but in many places higher; and it is twenty-five feet 
thick at the bottom, and only two or three at the top. 
Bound about the city is a ditch, some twenty or twenty- 



THE CITADEL. 293 

five feet broad. I saw this ditch quite full of water in 
some places — a regular canal, in fact ; in other places it 
was quite dry. In the course of my narrative, I have 
already spoken at length of two of the gates, by which 
the city is entered. Besides the Hazar-Asp and the Haza- 
vat gates, there are five more. 

The space between the exterior and interior walls is at 
one place almost completely occupied by tombs. This is 
not the first time I have observed on the curious habit of 
the Khivans to place the dwellings of living and dead 
close beside one another. I remarked the same thing 
in Khala-ata, Hazar-Asp, in fact, in every part of the 
Khanate. 

In another place, the interspace between the citadel 
and outer wall is taken up with gardens. This — the 
western part of the city — is by far its pleasantest quarter. 
There are numbers of elms and fruit trees, and many little 
canals; so that this quarter has the air partly of an 
agreeable country suburb, and partly of a small Dutch 
town, where every street has its canal. Here I should 
mention that the water supply comes principally from 
two canals : the Chingeri, in the northern, and the Ingrik, 
in the south-western part of the town. Inside many of 
the courts of the houses, as already more than once 
remarked, there is a little pool of water for the use of the 
household ; these pools are supplied from the canals. 

It is not to be inferred, because the houses are of 
mud, that they are so very miserable in anything else 
but appearance, or that they are so very uncomfortable. 
They are, on the contrary, very well adapted to the country 
and climate ; and although not corresponding to our ideas 
of luxury, afford, with their cool dark rooms, a welcome 
retr jat from the sultry heat ; and they are often fitted up 



294 



CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 



with a degree of comfort that contrasts pleasantly with 
their shabby exterior. 

The plan of a Khivan house is generally as follows. 
There is a large court to which admission is gained some- 
times by a small narrow door, sometimes by one large 
enough to admit a cart. Around this court are disposed 




A VIEW INSIDE THE EXTEEIOK WALL. 
(From a design by Feodowff.) 



the rooms of the dwelling, all opening into it, and rarely 
having any other communication with each other. On 
the south side, and always facing the north, is a high porch, 
whose roof usually rises some eight or ten feet above the 
surrounding walls ; and serves to catch the wind, and bring 
it down into the court below on the principle of a windsail 
aboard-ship. A gentle circulation of air is thus kept up, 



THROUGH THE STREETS. 295 

conducing greatly to health and comfort in summer, what- 
ever may be its effect in winter. 

The interior of the rooms are fitted up in very much 
the same manner as those of the harem of the palace, 
which I have already described, but usually with less 
luxuriance. 

It is needless to say that such things as chairs and 
tables are unknown, carpets, felts, cushions, pillows, and 
coverlets, all made up of various bright coloured stuffs, 
taking their places. "Window-glass also is unknown, and in 
summer at least is little needed, as heat and light are almost 
inseparable, and the half-obscurity that reigns in the 
rooms, even in daytime, is far more conducive to comfort 
and repose than the broad glare of daylight. 

As there is no attempt at architectural display in the 
houses — no windows, and few doors in the principal 
streets — a walk about Khiva presents about as much 
variety as would a walk between two mud walls, varying 
in height from ten to twenty feet, anywhere else. The 
streets are from ten to twenty feet wide, and of course 
very dusty this time of year, and you see but the bare 
mud walls everywhere, cut here and there by an occa- 
sional cross street, with nothing whatever to relieve their 
muddy monotony. Occasionally you catch a glimpse 
through an open door of a dark interior, and see 
a woman or two, hastily scurrying into their rooms, to 
escape the prying glance of the hated " Urus." Some- 
times you come upon a group of little girls, five or six 
years old, who, already taught to avoid the glance of a 
man, scatter and hide like young partridges ; or you 
meet a woman, closely veiled in the horrid horsehair veil. 
who cowers along the other side of the street, as though 
your eyes were suflScient to blast her; or simply turns 



296 



CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 



her back to you, and waits until you pass. The boys, 
however, are not in the least afraid, and like boys 




{From a design by Veresichagin.') 



everywhere else, are rather disposed to be troublesome 
and inquisitive, though ready to hold your horse, or do you 
any other little service. 



THE MOSQUE OP PALYAN-ATA. 297 

Khiva possesses seventeen mosques and twenty-two 
medresses. A medresse has some resemblance to a 
Catholic monastery ; it is a place where the mullahs or 
priests are supposed to spend their time in leading holy 
lives and acquiring religious knowledge. I visited several 
of these one day, in company with Baron Kaulbars. We 
first called on the Khan, whom we found in the Divan or 
council, which was held in a kibitka in a garden outside 
the walls. He readily gave us a guide, and seemed pleased 
that we should take such interest in the medresses. 

The most beautiful, and at the same time the most 
sacred structure in Khiva, is the mosque Palvan-Ata. 
It is rather prettily situated back in a small garden, 
and with its tall dome, presents a very fine appearance. 
It is built of kiln-burnt brick. The dome is about sixty 
feet high, is covered with the same kind of tiles as 
those of the great tower already spoken of, burnt a 
brilliant green, and is surmounted by a gilt ball. The 
general appearance is not unlike that of a Kussian 
Church. It was built in 1811, by Mahomed-Kahim-Khan, 
and contains the tomb of Palvan — the patron saint of 
the Khivans. 

The appearance of the interior of the dome is very 
beautiful and striking. It is covered from bottom to top 
with tiles, which are adorned with a delicate blue tracery, 
interwoven with verses from the Koran. These tiles are 
so closely fitted together that the joints cannot be seen, 
and the whole appearance is that of an immense inverted 
vase of Chinese porcelain. 

This dome, owing to its construction, has peculiar 
acoustic properties, to which the Khivans attach a super- 
stitious importance. The prayers, uttered in a loud tone 
of voice, and by many persons together, are caught up 





^-^-^-S 



^A=. 



M^. 



Mfc-^ 



^Jfc 



S2r5j 



^r«s( 



A DERVISH, j^row a design by Verestchagin. 



AN ASYLUM FOR THE BLIND. 299 

toucliing in the scrupulous cleanliness with which every- 
thing was kept ; and the neatness and order displayed in the 
arrangement of their poor simple effects, appealed directly 
to one's sympathy, in showing the same characteristics 
in these people that distinguish the blind of our own 
race. 

There were fifteen or twenty blind persons here. They 
informed us that they receive tea, bread and rice every 
day, and meat two or three times a week, besides little 
presents of fruit, melons, and sugar from the people, when 
they go through the bazaar. The place is partly supported 
by a donation from the founder, St. Palvan, partly by the 
present Khan. That such an institution should exist 
here in Khiva, shows that these people are not such 
barbarians as might be supposed. 

We then mounted by a narrow, crooked stairway to an 
upper story, or platform, where, disposed around the 
central dome in an irregular way, was a jumble of 
little cells, and rooms inhabited by the mullahs. These 
rooms were usually arranged in suites of two and three, 
scarcely larger than those of the blind students, and 
situated on the south side. Though exposed to the sun, 
the dark little room itself, when the door was shut, was not 
uncomfortable ; and we threw ourselves willingly enough 
on the floor, while the mullah prepared us tea and pilaoff. 

From here we went to the medresse, built by the 
present Khan, on the square before the palace. This 
medress6 is a new edifice, constructed of excellent firebrick, 
and making considerable pretensions to architectural dis- 
play. It appeared to be built upon the plan of a Persian 
caravansary, and the design was probably furnished, and 
the work done by Persian slaves. It is about 100 feet 
square, two stories high, and presents a very handsome 



300 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

fafade, with an elevated portal about fifty feet high, and, 
when finished, will be ornamented with the blue and 
white tiles so often spoken of. 

Inside is a large, well-paved court, which gives access 
to all the rooms. The rooms are ranged around the 
court in two stories. Each mullah has two rooms ; one 
for the kitchen — the mullahs and students all do their 
own cooking — and the other for a sitting-room and study. 
The larger is about six by eight, and is provided 
with a fireplace, sewer, and other conveniences, all on a 
miniature scale, that reminds one of a children's play- 
house. No light gets into the rooms, except through a 
crevice over the door, and they are consequently rather a 
dark place, one would think, to study. There is series of 
cells on the second story, opening on a long balcony on 
the facade, and looking out on the square and the palace 
of the Khan, which are very pleasantly situated. This 
medresse afi'ords ample accommodation for 100 people, 
with Khivan ideas of room, but it was now almost entirely 
unoccupied. It is surprising that the Khan should have 
built a medresse instead of a palace, for his present one is 
far inferior, in point of taste, solidity, and comfort, to this 
medresse. 

Quite close to the Khan's palace is the medresse, built 
by Mahomed Emir Khan in 1844. This, which will be 
seen in the illustration, is the most -important medresse 
in the city ; and consists of a large quadrangular building, 
surrounding a spacious paved court. 

It is built on exactly the same plan as the one I have 
described ; and it supports 300 scholars, who are super- 
intended and taught by four teachers. Each scholar 
receives yearly fifteen bushels of wheat, fifteen bushels of 
djugera, and from £3 to £4 in money. At the corner 



""«Ci 



.5:;^--^- 



A MULLAH AT PRAYER. From a design by Verestc/tagin. 



THE MULLAH. 301 

of this medresse stands the large tower, the most 
prominent object in Khiva. 

There are twenty-two mosques and medresses in Khiva. 
Of these, only four or five are built of bricl:, the rest 
are of clay, and there is little to distinguish them from 
the surrounding houses. 

These mullahs are an extraordinary set of men. 
Lean and withered, long-bearded and sunken-eyed, they 
go prowling about, with benumbed and stupid faces, 
which are only lighted by the fires of bigotry and 
fanaticism. 

Years passed in their close, dark, little cells, learning 
the Koran by heart, without even understanding it, poring 
over the same theme, to the exclusion of every living 
human interest, reduces them to this state of semi-idiotcy. 
As an illustration of their ignorance and stupidity, as 
well as their capacity for some kinds of mental labour. 
General Kaufmann told me that when in Samarcand, he 
heard of a young mullah there who was very famous for 
his piety and his knowledge of the Koran. Upon ex- 
pressing a desire to make his acquaintance, the young 
mullah called upon him. Kaufmann found he actually 
knew the Koran by heart in Arabic, and could com- 
mence at any part, and recite it right through to the end. 
When, however, asked to translate a chapter, he ex- 
pressed astonishment at such a request, and declared 
that he did not understand a word of Arabic, And yet 
the poor fellow had spent the best years of his life in 
this parrot's occupation. Is it wonderful that after such 
a course of study he should not only look, but be stupid ? 

But, apart from the kind of life they lead, the head-gear 
of these mullahs would be sufficient of itself to benumb 
their brains, and deprive them of the last spark of intel- 



302 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

ligence left by their severe course of religious training. 
Imagine an ordinary sheepskin, with the wool on, made 
up into a high conical cap, weighing seven or eight pounds ; 
around the base of this, twenty-five or thirty yards of 
white muslin, wound in guise of turban, and you will have 
some notion of this monstrous hat. It is worn in the 
hottest weather, and the sight of one of these mullahs 
plodding through the dusty streets in the broiling heat of 
a noon-day sun, supporting this monstrous superstructure 
on his head, is enough to make one shudder at man's 
inhumanity to himself. Their object in wearing the 
sheepskin hat, especially in hot weather, when only the 
turban is required by the Koran, is not easily understood. 
The influence these priests exert in keeping alive the 
spirit of intolerance, bigotry, and superstition, among the 
people, in hindering progress, and promoting vice and 
ignorance, by confining all knowledge to the Koran, is 
very great indeed. And the superior honesty, virtue, 
tolerance, and kindliness of spirit of the Kirghiz, as com- 
pared with the people of the towns, may, I think, be in 
great part attributed to the absence of mullahs from 
among them. 



THE COOL SHADE OF THE BAZAAE. 303 



CHAPTEE XVI. 

THE BAZAAE. 

It is about noon one Jay as I leave my quarters in Khiva, 
to take a view of tlie bazaar. The streets are liot and 
dusty; the sun is shining fiercely; the grey mud- walls 
receive and again throw out the heat, so that walking 
through the streets is like walking through a baker's oven. 

Out of this blinding glare you gladly step into the cool 
dark shade of the bazaar. A pleasant compound scent of 
spices, and many other agreeable odours, greet your 
nostrils ; the confused noise and hum of a large crowd 
assail your ears ; and an undistinguishable mass of men, 
horses, camels, donkeys, and carts meet your eyes. The 
bazaar is simply a street covered in, and it is altogether a 
very primitive affair. The roof is formed by beams laid 
from wall to wall across the narrow street, supporting 
small pieces of wood laid closely together, and covered 
with earth. It serves its purpose very well, however, and 
keeps out the heat and light. 

"With delight you breathe the cool, damp, spice-laden 
air, and survey, with watering mouth, the heaps of rich, 
ripe fruit spread out in profusion. There are apricots 
peaches, plums, grapes, and melons of a dozen difi'erent 
species, together with an indescribable array of wares only 



304 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

to be seen in Central Asia. Properly speaking, there are 
no shops ; an elevated platform runs along one side, 
and men are seated among heaps of wares, with no 
apparent boundary line between them. On the other 
side there are a few barbers, butchers, cobblers, and 
smaller traders. 

You push your horse with difficulty through the crowd 
for about fifty yards, until you come to another street, 
likewise covered in, which cuts this one transversely. 
Turning to the left, you enter a heavy arched gateway of 
brick, with massive wooden gates, and now you are in the 
Tim," or bazaar proper. In this bazaar is transacted 
the principal retail business of the city. It is a double 
arcade or passage, 100 yards long, by forty feet wide ; 
and is built of brick, in a succession of arches. The roof 
is some forty feet high, and each arch ends in a kind of 
dome-funnel, with a round hole in the top, which serves to 
light and ventilate the place. In the middle is a dome 
higher than the rest, which is not wholly without archi- 
tectural pretensions. 

The shops here are the merest booths or stalls, six or 
eight feet square, with one side open to the passage, 
displaying the most incongruous assortment of wares it 
is possible to imagine. Tea, sugar, silks, cotton-stuffs, 
khalats, boots, tobacco, everything, in short, found in 
Central Asia you will see displayed in one of these stalls. 

You take your seat in front of these booths, indulge 
your taste for fruit to its utmost on water-melons, cool 
and juicy, and peaches, rich and luscious, or grapes that 
make you think what a pity it is there is no wine. Or if 
you want to make a more substantial meal, a pilaoff with 
hot wheaten cakes, will be brought you in a twinkling ; 
and you sit down there in the midst of the surging crowd, 



SURVEYING THE CROWD. 



305 



and quietly enjoy your meal. The tea used here, by-the- 
way, is the green, and is the only import, the supply of 
which is monopolised by the English. 




AX UZBLG. 



You may stretch yourself out on a piece of carpet in 
some nook or corner, and watch the ever-varying group 



306 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

and the succession of strange, wild faces for hours with 
unflagging interest. Eepresentatives of all the peoples of 
Central Asia may be found in the motley crowd. Here is 
an Uzbeg, in tall, black sheepskin hat and long khalat, 
with the thoughtful face and dignified bearing of his race. 
He is one of the landed aristocracy of Khiva, the descend- 
ants of the conquerors of the country, and stands in the 
same relation to the rest of the Khivans as do the descend- 
ants of the Norman-French to the masses of the English 
people. Tall and well-formed, with straight nose, even, 
regular features, heavy beard, and pensive expression, you 
might take him for a European, but for his swarthy 
complexion, and a certain lean and sinewy appearance, 
and hardness of face that marks the Oriental, of whatever 
race or country. He may well look pensive now ; the 
domination of his race here is past, and Muhamed-Eahim- 
Bogadur-Khan is the last Uzbeg that will rule in Khiva. 
Here is a Kirghiz, mounted on his camel, his broad, flat, 
stolid, but good-natured face wearing a look almost of comic 
bashfulness. He hears himself execrated by various per- 
sons among the crowd, whom his camel has pushed aside, 
and the butt for divers observations, probably of a very 
personal and not flattering nature, from all sides. The 
highly-educated and refined people of the towns look 
down with a great deal of contempt on the simple 
nomads, who do not enjoy the advantages of a great 
metropolis. The Kirghiz has probably come thirty or 
forty miles to sell a couple of sheep, to buy a little tea 
and sugar, or perhaps a new khalat and a few beads for 
wife or daughter. 

This man, with a white turban and the many-coloured 
robe, that flashes out in the sunshine like a bed of brilliant 
flowers, is a Bokhariot merchant, who has come here upon 



NOTHING BUT MEN'S FACES. 307 

a mission of cheating his confreres of the, to him, provin- 
cial town, and perhaps to pick up a few slaves. The 
latter part of his mission at least is a failure. 

Next comes one with a swarthy complexion, almost 
black, thick lips, heavy, beetling brows, short, thick, 
upturned nose, and fierce black eyes. He has an easy, 
independent air of self-confidence, verging upon insolence, 
and he urges on a large, fine horse upon which he is 
mounted through the crowd, without seeming to care 
a pin whether he rides anybody down or not. There 
is no jeering at him, nor witticisms at his expense, which 
you may think surprising, as he has done far more to 
merit them than the timid Kirghiz. There is a reason for 
this respect. This individual is good at repartee, and, if 
anything, a trifle more ready with his sabre than his 
tongue. He is a Yomud Turcoman, of whom we shall 
hear more anon. 

He is followed by a Persian; ere while a 'slave; with 
sharp, hatchet face, and agile, cat-like motions, who glances 
at you with a quick movement of his ferret eyes. And 
now you prick up your ears at the sight of a tall, white 
turban, which you have learned belongs to a woman, in 
the hopes of feasting your eyes on a female face once 
more. But no. Enveloped in her long, ragged robes, 
a dirty khalat thrown over her shoulders, and the 
horrid, black horsehair veil covering her face like a pall, 
you can only catch the occasional gleam of a bright eye 
as she glides past. The women, when they go out, put 
on the raggedest and dirtiest clothes they can find, making 
themselves look like beggars, in order to escape notice. 
This becomes, after a while, one of the most disagreeable 
features of Khiva. Men's faces, nothing but men's faces 
for weeks and months, until you long for the sight of a 



308 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

woman's face as you do for green grass and flowers in the 
desert. 

While the " Tim " is the mart of the retail trade, most 
of the wholesale is transacted in the caravansary. 

This caravansary, I learn from Eussian sources, was 
erected in 1823, by Khan Muhamed-Eahim, after the 
plan of all such buildings in Central Asia. It is a 
square building, with a large, quadrangular paved court, 
about fifty by sixty feet. On each of the four sides are 
a number of cells, that serve as shops, none of which are 
more than eight feet square. The booths have arched 
ceilings, front towards the court, and receive light through 
the doors only. In these booths are stored away the 
wares of the rich merchants of Khiva, who traffic with 
Eussia and Central Asia. 

I have seen it stated in a Eussian journal that a church 
official, armed with a whip, visits the bazaar several times 
during the day, in order to decide the complaints con- 
cerning weights and measures. He is also answerable, 
according to the same authority, that nobody sleeps 
during the hour of prayer. Those who offend against 
any of the regulations of the place, are punished on the 
spot; and the official is accompanied by assistants, who 
inflict the punishment prescribed. But, possibly on 
account of the general disorganisation, I saw nothing of 
all this. The weights and measures are Eussian, and so 
are the reckoning boards, on which the merchants make 
their calculations. The standard of money in Khiva is 
the silver kokan, or tenga, which is worth twenty kopeks. 
Nine kokans make a tilla, a gold coin, worth one ruble 
and eighty silver kopeks, or two paper rubles. There 
are also double tillas, equal to three rubles and sixty 
kopeks. There is a small copper coin, the pul or cheka, 



THE TEAFFIC IN SLAVES. 309 

sixty of which are equal to one tilla : a pul having the 
value of one-third of a silver kopek. 

Here also is the slave mart. The kidnapping of 
Eussian and Persian subjects, and their sale as slaves in 
Khiva, had gone on for a long time. In the first half of 
this century, the number of Eussian slaves was large ; 
there being, according to the authority I have quoted 
above, before the expedition of Greneral Perovsky, 2000 
in Khiva. But during the campaign of this Greneral, 
in 1839-40, the greater part of them were set at liberty 
and sent to Orenburg. In the treaty which Colonel 
Danilewsky made with the Khan, after the ill-fated ex- 
pedition, the Khivan ruler pledged himself to deal no 
more in Eussian prisoners. In spite of this treaty, and 
that which was subsequently concluded with the Khan in 
1858, the commerce in Eussian slaves still continued, 
though less extensively. Eussian prisoners were sold 
in the Khivan market in recent years for 100, and even 
200 tillas ; the Persian men at seventy, and the women 
and young boys at from sixty to 300 tillas. The Eussian 
prisoners were dearer than the Persians, because they 
worked better ; and the Khan generally kept them for 
himself. Some even attained a certain rank, becoming 
chiefs in the army, and artillery instructors. 

Persia, however, furnished the largest contingent of 
slaves. The Persian " Shiites," or heretics, were kidnapped 
by the Turcomans, who captured great numbers of them 
on the Persian frontier. The treatment of the prisoners 
by the Turcomans was purposely barbarous. Accord- 
ing to Vambery, they were fed scantily, almost to star- 
vation point, from the fear that if they were better 
nourished they would escape. Besides being whipped, 
they were tortured in every possible manner that only 



310 OAMPAiaNINa ON THE OXUS. 

Asiatic barbarity could invent. They were bound at 
night to stakes so close that they could neither stand 
nor sit. It is sufficient to say that they arrived in Khiva 
veritable skeletons. 

In the Khanate itself, however, the slaves are not, 
so far as I could learn, treated so badly. They get 
enough to eat and drink ; and as to their clothes, there is 
no difference in this respect between the master and his 
slave. They would not seem to have been overworked, 
for many of them were able to purchase their liberty by 
doing extra work. 

Afghans were also captured ; but, according to the law 
of the Koran, they could not be sold as slaves, as they are 
orthodox sunnites, and not heretics. But the avaricious 
Turcomans and Khivans forced the Affghans, by whipping 
and other tortures, to acknowledge themselves " shiites," 
whereupon they were sold as slaves for having renounced 
the true religion. Jews are never made slaves, owing 
to the contempt in which they are held by the Ma- 
homedhans. The Eussians were captured by the Turco- 
mans for the most part on the east coast of the Caspian 
Sea ; the Kirghiz making prisoners of the Eussian fisher- 
men along the northern coast of this sea, and also on 
the Orenburg and Siberian frontiers. 

The Persian and other slaves hailed with wild delight 
the approach of the Eussians ; for the emancipation of the 
slaves has always followed the occupation of any place in 
Central Asia by the Eussians. 

After the occupation of Khiva, open war arose between 
the slaves and their masters. The Persians commenced 
robbing the Khivans, and then the Khivans came to the 
Eussians in crowds, and besought protection from the fury 
of the Persians. To put an end to this disorder, strict 



TWO PEESIANS HANGED. 311 

measures were taken, and two Persians, proved guilty 
of robbery, were condemned by court-martial to be 
hanged. I saw their dead bodies hanging to the beams 
in one of the bazaars, where they remained for several 
days. I may mention that many of Kaufmann's officers 
strongly condemned this act, thinking that the Persians 
had too much reason for taking some vengeance on the 
masters, to be thus severely treated. The punishment, 
however, had the double effect of cowing the Persians 
and of encouraging the masters to punish them severely 
for the use they had made of their liberty. Several poor 
fellows came into our camp and showed us gashes in 
the soles of their feet or in the calves of their legs, 
in which was strewed cut horsehair. 

It was on hearing of these cruelties that Genera] 
Kaufmann ordered the Khan to issue that proclamation 
abolishing slavery with regard to which the Khan made 
the laughable mistake, of which I spoke in a previous 
chapter. This proclamation was issued on the 24th of 
June ; and the public criers proclaimed it through the 
streets of Khiva and in all the important towns of the 
Khanate. 

We could not obtain precise information with regard to 
the number of slaves. Mat-Murad, when questioned on 
the subject, said that there were only 3000 or 4000. But 
Mat-Murad, we found, had 400 slaves himself. From all 
we could gather, there were about 30,000 Persians in 
Khiva, of whom 27,000 were slaves. I heard that the 
Eussians for a while entertained the project of dividing 
among the Persians a quantity of unoccupied land in 
Khiva ; but if this excellent idea has come to anything, 1 
have not been informed of it. The Eussians determined 
to send some of the Persians home. Three convoys were 



312 CAMPAIGNTNa ON THE OXUS. 

formed, of about 500 each ; and the Persian Government 
was asked by telegraph to meet the parties at the frontier. 
Some of the Persians were sent by Kinderly Bay and 
Krasnovodsk, and arrived safely at their destination. 
Others, who went by the Attrek, fell into the hands of the 
Tekki-Turcomans, and perished miserably. Those who 
remained in Khiva, though emancipated, are not, I fancy, 
much better off than before. Some Russian officers seemed 
to think that three-fourths of the Persians would remain 
slaves still, and were of opinion that General Kaufmann 
did not act vigorously enough in this matter. However 
that be, there can be little doubt that the theoretical 
abolition of slavery will ultimately result in its practical 
abolition. 

The commerce of the Khanate is concentrated in Yani- 
Urgench, twenty miles north-east from Khiva. The 
richest merchants of the Khanate reside there, and do 
a wholesale business with Eussia, Bokhara, and Persia, 
there being in the capital itself little money or trade. 
There are 300 shops in Khiva, but the amount of mer- 
chandise in them is unimportant, and the greater part of 
the shops are open but twice a week, on Mondays and 
Thursdays, which are market-days; on the other days, 
scarcely any business is transacted. 

The following wares are to be seen in the bazaars and 
shops : — Eipe and dried fruits, wheat, rye, djugera, clover- 
seed, bread in small rolls, Eussian sugar, green tea, 
which comes from India through Bokhara, domestic 
Eussian and Bokhara stuffs of cotton and silk, bed-covers, 
boots and shoes, copper-ware, and iron vessels, teapots, 
teacans, and teacups, which are also brought from Eussia. 

From this glance it can be easily seen that the greatest 
traffic is carried on with Eussia. There are but two 



THE SILK TRADE IN KHIVA. 313 

kinds of English goods to be found — cheap chintz or 
calico, and nmslin, with the Glasgow stamp. The, Eussian 
chintz is of a lighter quality, and costs from ten to fifteen 
kopeks the yard. 

The fruit of Khiva is remarkably fine and abundant, 
the dried fruits being a principal export article to Eussia. 
The melons are of excellent quality, and are sown in 
enormous quantities. They ripen in the latter part of 
June, and are, during the summer, a chief article of food. 
There are many varieties ; a melon costs about five kopeks. 
Water-melons, pomegranates, figs, &c., ripen later. The 
Khivan cucumbers have the form of the melon, and even 
the interior of each is not unlike. 

A good deal of silk is manufactured in Khiva. The 
whole oasis is planted with white mulberry-trees ; and in 
every house throughout the country we found two or 
three large rooms full of the busy little spinners, feeding 
on the leaves. And although the whole process of manu- 
facture is of the simplest and most primitive kind, silks 
of very pretty patterns and of an exceedingly durable 
quality are produced. The whole work of spinning, dyeing, 
and weaving is often done in one family by one or two 
persons. The colours are very good, but the people have 
little skill in arranging them. Those wonderful masses of 
form and colour that in the sunshine seem to glow and 
burn with their own light, for which the weavers of 
Bokhara and Kokan are so renowned, are unknown here. 
Simple stripes of red, yellow, purple, and brown, is as 
far as they have attained in arrangement of colour. 

Going along one or two streets in Khiva, you will find 
the walls covered with yarn-silk, hung out by the dyers 
to dry; and if you do not look sharp, you will find 
your clothes bespattered with red and purple, from the 



314 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

dripping masses over your head. A glance into these 
factories does not much remind one of the great estab- 
lishment of Bonnet, at Lyons ; but they are interest- 
ing in their way, nevertheless, as forming part of the 
primitive life of this strange, isolated people. The first 
operation in silk manufacture, that of unwinding the 
threads from the cocoons, was, however, so much like 
the same operation in Bonnet's great factory, that if his 
hands should ever strike, he might easily get workers 
from Khiva to replace them. You see the same little 
yellow balls dancing in the basins of hot water, while the 
thread is wound off on a reel, and your nose recognises the , 
same disagreeable smell. I observed that five cocoons were 
taken to make up the first thread, just as is done in the 
Lyons factories. The machinery is very simple. A large 
wooden wheel, eight feet in diameter, kept in motion by 
hand, is made to turn a number of little spools, on to 
which is wound the thread from the cocoons. A reel or 
two for making the warp comprises all the machinery of 
the twisting department. The loom is even more simple. 
There is no mechanical arrangement for separating the 
warp to allow the passage of the shuttle, and the marvel 
is how, with such primitive machines, they should still 
make so much good silk. 



A CENTRAL ASIAN PORTRAIT. 315 



CHAPTEE XVII. 

A DINNER WITH AN UZBEG. 

]\IiRZA Hakim is the ambassador of Kokan, at Tashkent. 
What he was while still an untravelled Asiatic, I cannot 
say ; now, at all events, he is a very good fellow. He 
speaks Eussian ; has spent a winter in St. Petersburg, and 
mixed in its fashionable society. He espouses the cause 
of Patti against Nilsson, drinks champagne, smokes 
cigarettes, plays cards, and is, in short, quite civilised. 

The contrast between him and his royal master is very 
striking. 

Khudayar Khan is a fine specimen of the Central Asian 
potentate. Up to the age of sixteen he was under the 
tutelage of one Mussulman Kul, who governed in his 
name, oppressed the people, committed all sorts of atro- 
cities, and carried things with a very high hand. Lest 
the young Khan should make friends, and thus be able 
one day to assert his sovereignty, this astute minister 
never gave him any money, and kept him a kind of 
prisoner, on a very limited allowance. 

At length the continued misrule of Mussulman Kul 
caused a rebellion. The young Khan adopted the rather 
peculiar plan of joining the insurrection, which was sup- 
posed to be directed against his own authority. The 

23 



316 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

rebels received him with open arms ; a battle was fought, 
and Mussulman Kul was overthrown, and captured, with 
500 of his followers. 

For a period of two montlig after his accession to the 
throne, this agreeable young Khan gave a series of very- 
splendid fetes to celebrate the happy event. He was 
not revengeful neither, for at every one of these fetes 
Mussulman Kul was invited to assist. Each one was 
rendered picturesque — to Mussulman Kul especially — by 
the execution of fifteen or twenty of his chief fol- 
lowers. This interesting spectacle was repeated every 
day for two or three months, and was attended by 
Mussulman Kul with great assiduity. At last, all his 
followers having been disposed of, he was invited to 
exchange his roh of spectator for that of chief actor. 
Saying only, " Allah akhbar " — " Allah is great," he 
calmly submitted his throat to the executioner's knife. 

One day, Mirza Hakim came to me with an invitation 
to dine with a friend of his, a neighbouring Uzbeg. I 
gladly accepted the offer. An hour's ride through the 
gardens brought us to the house of our host. It was a 
large rectangular structure, of the kind I have already 
described as belonging to the Uzbegs. K huge cranelated 
wall surrounded the buildings and inclosed about six 
acres of ground. This was a very large estate in Khiva, 
and our host was, therefore, to be considered a wealthy 
landed proprietor. "We first entered a big, rudely-con- 
structed portal, and found ourselves in a small court, 
around which were a number of stables. Opposite the 
portal was the entrance to the house itself, before which 
stood our host, with a number of his people, prepared to 
meet and welcome us. He did not lead us into the house, 
however, but took us through a narrow gateway to the 



A DINNEK AL FEESCO. 317 

left into a garden which surrounded it. Here a tent was 
pitched under some elms. There was a nice plot of grass 
and a little pool of water, and carpets were spread for us 
to sit down upon. 

No pleasanter spot could have heen selected for a meal. 
The garden, as I have already said, was some acres in 
extent, and it was planted with fruit-trees, heneath 
which ran in every direction little canals of clear flowing 
water. Towards the further end were two or three small 
houses resembling summer-houses, in which seemed to 
live some of our host's people. Many of these gathered 
round us, and watched us with curious hut respectful 
gaze; while others helped us to remove our heavy 
riding-boots and put on the slippers our host had pro- 
vided. 

It was evident that the Uzbeg had made every prepa- 
ration to make our expected visit agreeable, for he ofi'ered 
us not only Kussian cigarettes, but nalivha, a kind of 
gooseberry wine resembling the French cassisse, which is 
much affected by the Kussians. The cigarettes and wine 
he had obtained from Eussian merchants; for scarcely 
had Khiva been taken, when some ten or twelve, with 
champagne and other wines, tobacco, and a number of 
wares, made their appearance — a striking illustration 
of the enterprise and energy of the Eussian trader in 
extending Eussian commerce in Central Asia. 

After a while, a cloth was spread on the carpet and 
dinner was brought in. In Central Asia, instead of 
relegating the dessert to the end of the meal, when you 
have lost all taste and appreciation for it, it is brought 
in before the solids. Thus, the first thing we had were 
fruits — apricots, melons, mulberries. Then came three or 
four kinds of sweetmeats much esteemed in Central Asia. 



318 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

These sweetmeats somewliat resembled toffee, with the 
addition of the kernels of different nuts ; they were of all 
varieties and colours — red, green, and yellow — and had a 
very fine flavour. Next came a frothy compound, which 
was very much like ice-cream without the ice. Into this 
we dip our thin wheaten cakes, as it is almost liquid and 
we have no spoons. Then we have various kinds of nuts 
and nalivha, which are followed by ihe^iece de resistance of 
the meal. The dish now before us is a steaming pilaoff, 
made of great quantities of rice and juicy pieces of 
mutton, roasted all together in one large vessel. It is not 
at all a bad dish, and forms the principal part of the 
Khivan meal. 

Large pipes were now brought in, and I began to flatter 
myself that I was about to enjoy the luxury of a hookah, 
with something equal, or perhaps superior, to the Turkish 
tobacco. I was a little disappointed. The pipe consisted 
of a large gourd, about a foot high. This was nearly 
filled with water, and on the top was a bowl containing 
the fire and tobacco, and communicating by a tube with 
the water. Near the top on either side, just above the 
water, was a hole, but here was no stem. You simply take 
up the whole vessel in your hand, and then blow through 
one of the holes to expel whatever smoke is inside. 
This done, you put your finger to the hole on one side, 
and your mouth to that on the other, and then inhale 
the smoke into your lungs ; an operation requiring a 
certain amount of skill and dexterity, in order to avoid 
burning your mouth and scorching your eyebrows. Na- 
turally, a very few whiffs were sufficient for me, and I 
was glad to return to my cigarettes. 

We now walked about the grounds, the Uzbeg showing 
us everything, evidently with great pleasure. There was 



AN UZBEG INTEEIOR. 319 

but little to be seen beyond a wooden plough, probably 
not unlike the one used by Adam, a few rudely-wrought 
hoes and rakes, one or two arbas — the wooden car of the 
country — and two or three scythes. Our host then 
brought us into his barn, in which there was a consider- 
able store of wheat and barley just gathered in, and of 
new-saved hay. I was in hopes that he would next take 
us into his house, and show us its internal arrangements 
and his wife and children ; but in this I was disappointed. 

I had afterwards an opportunity of seeing the interior 
of an Uzbeg house ; and I suppose that of my host was 
pretty much the same. There is little attempt at luxury 
or taste in the house of even the richest ; and in this 
respect the poorest seems almost on an equality with 
the most opulent. A few carpets on the floor; a few 
rugs and cushions round the wall, with shelves for 
earthenware and China porcelain; three or four heavy, 
gloomy books, bound in leather or parchment ; and 
some pots of jam and preserved fruit, generally make 
up the contents of the room. There are usually two 
or three apartments in the house different from the 
others, in having arrangements for obtaining plenty of 
light. In these rooms you find the upper half of one of 
the walls completely wanting, with the overhanging 
branches of an elm projecting through the opening. The 
effect is peculiar and striking, as well as pleasant. From 
the midst of this room — with mud walls and uneven 
floor, with the humblest household utensils, and perhaps 
a smoking fire — you get glimpses of the blue sky through 
the green leaves of the elm-tree. A slightly-projecting 
roof protects the room from rain ; in cold weather, of 
course, it is abandoned. 

Two or three other rooms are devoted to the silkworms, 



320 



CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXTJS. 



the feeding and care of whicli form the special occupation 
of the women. The worms naturally receive a great deal 
of attention, for their cocoons pay a great part of the 
household expenses. 

To return to my host : the sun had set, and we were 
now to be shown the great entertainment of the evening. 
We returned to the little grassplot where we had taken our 




DANCING BOYS. 



dinner, sat down, and resumed our pipes and cigarettes. 
Two young boys, the one about eight, the other about ten 
years of age, came forward, and, having made a respectful 
salaam, disposed themselves to dance. They were simply 
dressed in the long loose khalat of the Khivans, which 
reached almost to the heels. Their heads were shaven, 



THE BOYS DANCE. 321 

with tlie exception of two long black locks, which were 
behind each ear, and fell over their shoulders. They 
wore a little conical skull-cap, and their feet were bare. 
They were very beautiful children indeed, with very 
large dark eyes and long heavy lashes, and they appeared 
merry, light-hearted, and well cared-for ; and, consider- 
ing their degrading occupation, I was surprised to find an 
exceedingly bright intelligent expression in their faces. 

A little crowd of people had now gathered — retainers, 
probably, and servants of the Uzbeg. A ragged-looking 
musician stepped forward. He had a three-stringed 
guitar, much resembling those found in the palace of the 
Khan, which I have already described. Crouching down 
upon the ground beside a tree, he began to sing, accom- 
panying himself on the instrument. The manner of 
singing was something like that of the Kirghiz, possessing 
very little melody, and apparently no musical arrange- 
ment whatever ; a mere sing-song sort of whine, in a high 
key, interrupted here and there by exclamatory phrases. 
The accompaniment on the guitar was, on the contrary, 
pretty and rather curious. The boys began to dance. 
For a while their movements were very slow and leisurely. 
They simply seemed to hop from one foot to the other, 
keeping time to the music and clapping their hands over 
their heads, and swaying their bodies in a variety of 
graceful movements and poses. Soon the music grew 
more lively, and the boys gradually became excited. 
They clapped their hands wildly, uttered short occasional 
shouts, and then began to turn somersaults, to wrestle 
with each other, and roll upon the ground. This 
seemed to delight the spectators, who heartily applauded. 
The Uzbeg himself was greatly amused, laughed very im- 
moderately, and, having picked up the boys, talked to them 



322 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

caressingly, and gave them refreshments. This perform- 
ance was repeated, almost without variation, four or five 
times during the evening. 

As it grew dark, torches were brought and arranged 
around, some being stuck in the ground and some fastened 
to the trunks and branches of trees. The prettier of the 
boys now dressed himself up as a girl, with little bells to 
his wrists and feet, and a very elaborate and pretty cap, 
covered with bells and ornaments of silver, and with a 
veil hanging down behind. He then danced a new kind 
of dance, more quiet and modest than that he had gone 
through as a boy. After this had continued for about a 
quarter of an hour, the other hoj came forward, and, 
dancing together, the two enacted a love scene very 
prettily. He who did the part of the girl pretended to 
be offended, turned his back, and seemed disposed to sulk 
and pout. The other boy danced round the apparently- 
offended young lady, endeavouring, by all sorts of 
caresses, to restore her to good-humour. This failing, he 
grew vexed, and commenced sulking in his turn. The 
lady thereupon began to relent, and in her turn resorted 
to all forms of conciliation. The lover, having for a time 
proved inexorable, at last gave in; they then danced 
together with great apparent joy and animation, and 
then rushed off the scene amid the laughter of the 
audience. All this was done very gracefully and with 
much seeming intelligence. The actions of the one who 
was playing the girl were very pretty and coquettish. 
The torches casting a fitful light on the nodding branches 
of the trees overhead, the wild faces around, and these 
two children enacting a love scene, made up a strange 
and picturesque tableau. 

It had now grown late. As Mirza Hakim and myself 



ENACTING A LOVE SCENE. 323 

had intended returning to the camp before the patrols of 
the night were placed, we had not received the pass-word. 
A return would consequently have been somewhat dis- 
agreeable ; for, to say nothing of the dark ride through 
the gardens, it would have been difficult to get past the 
Eussian sentinels. We decided to stay all night. Our 
host, again, did not invite us into his house, but had rugs 
and cushions spread for us in the tent. Here Mirza 
Hakim and I threw ourselves down, and went to sleep. 
We were awakened in the night by the rain beating in 
our faces. We drew the sides of the tent together, and 
so managed to pass the night without getting very wet, 
although the rain was heavy. Next morning, after a 
hearty breakfast and a cordial farewell from our host, we 
mounted our horses and rode back to the camp. 



324 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 



CHAPTEK XVIII. 

A DINNER WITH THE (JRAND DUKE NICHOLAS. 

A REGIMENT is given to every member of the Eussian 
imperial family on his birth. The regiment bears his 
name ; the soldiers learn to look up to him with personal 
loyalty and devotion, and he is taught to regard them as 
specially under his care and protection. These terms 
subsist frequently for years before the commander and his 
regiment have ever seen each other. This was the case 
with the Grrand Duke Nicholas Constantinovitch and his 
regiment. After being quartered in the Caucasus for 
years, two of its companies accompanied Colonel Lama- 
kin's detachment from Kinderly ; and thus the regiment 
and its commander met for the first time before the walls 
of Khiva. The Grand Duke determined to celebrate the 
event by a banquet. The feast took place in the camp 
of the Orenburg detachment, which adjoined that of 
General Kaufmann outside the walls of Khiva. 

The banquet was spread in the open air, in a garden 
three or four acres in extent. The place was grandly 
illuminated, improvised Chinese lanterns hanging from the 
branches of the peach and apricot trees ; and a triumphal 
arch was constructed from the branches of poplar. 



CHAMPAGNE IN KHIVA. 325 

Altogether the appearance was not unlike that of the 
Jardin Mabille. 

Carpets were spread along the ground ; and around these 
were at one end collected the officers, and at the other 
some 200 or 300 soldiers. "When I arrived, the Grand 
Duke had already made his speech to his men, the dishes 
were laid, and there was altogether a scene of great 
animation. The bill of fare was in no way remarkable ; 
but not so the wine list. Besides the inevitable vodka, of 
which there were enormous quantities, several kinds of wine 
flowed freely. Among the rest, there was a very good sup- 
ply of champagne ; for you will find champagne among 
the Eussians where you cannot get bread. Clear and 
bubbling the wine flowed, giving beauty and value to 
the nondescript and decrepit glasses that we held out ; 
we revelled in the possession of the precious fluid, 
brought from the sunny hills of France over hundreds 
of miles of burning sand, on the backs of camels, into 
this almost inaccessible corner of the earth. I should 
mention that we procured most of our wine from the 
same indefatigable Eussian merchants who had sup- 
plied my TJzbeg host the day before with his cigarettes 
and nalivha. We drank the champagne with the greater 
gusto because it was not dear, it having only cost £3 
a bottle. 

Dinner passed off with much merriment on all sides, 
and concluded with a famous bowl of Eussian punch. 
This punch is made of a mixture of vodka, champagne, 
nalivka, and any other kind of wine that may be at hand. 
Apricots, melons, and cucumbers are put in to flavour 
and sugar to sweeten it, and the whole is then ignited, 
and allowed to burn till it boils. Though palatable and 
insinuating, it is the most diabolical compound I have 



326 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

ever tasted, for its every drop is laden with, headache for 
a week and dyspepsia for a fortnight. 

Dinner over, the real entertainments of the evening 
commence. First there was a dance of a wild and 
grotesque kind by the mountaineers of the Caucasus. A 
circle was formed. Each man got up in his turn and 
danced to a shrill kind of piping, like that of the bag- 
pipes, which came from a little flute, the other soldiers 
meantime clapping their hands to the music. Then 
came songs in the Caucasian dialect, which raised shouts 
of laughter among those who understood them. The 
songs were of an extraordinary character, interrupted here 
and there by phrases spoken in ordinary tones, and the 
language itself was full of guttural sounds and clicks, 
which could only be enunciated by a Caucasian. The 
Eussian Caucasians next danced and sang in their turn. 
Among the rest, they sang a fisherman's song entitled 
' Vniss po matushke po Yolge,' or ' Down the Mother 
Volga,' which was one of the finest things I ever heard. 

By this time, under the influence of supper and the 
libations which so frequently accompanied it, we had all 
become pretty jolly. Suddenly, to my astonishment, the 
cry of " Viliki Kniaz !" " Yiliki Kniaz !" was raised, and a 
moment afterwards I saw the Grrand Duke seized by his 
own soldiers in the most unceremonious manner. For a 
moment he disappears among the surging crowd of men ; 
the next minute I see him in a horizontal position, ten 
feet up in the air. He goes down and goes up again, and 
again up and again down, twenty times at least, being 
caught each time he descends in the outspread arms of 
the soldiers, who are laughing wildly all the while. At 
last, when he must have lost all consciousness of time and 
place, he is carried almost senseless to his seat at the 



THE HUG OF THE EUSSIAN BEAR. 327 

head of the table. Then there is more dancing, more 
singing, more drinking ; and another officer is seized and 
undergoes the same unceremonious treatment. I was 
somewhat bewildered by all this at first, and began to 
think that the soldiers, carried away by the excitement of 
the scene and the vodka they had been drinking, were 
passing all bounds in treating their officers in so off-hand 
a way. Just imagine the Prince of "Wales tossed ten feet 
in the air by the privates of the " Black Watch !" I soon 
learned that this tossing was a mark of particular affec- 
tion, and that no officer not liked by the soldiers was 
ever favoured with it. 

While I am mentally rejoicing that I do not live in the 
affections of the soldiers, I hear a cry of " Americanetz !" 
" Americanetz !" and before I know where I am, I feel a 
number of rough hands seize me by the arms, legs, and 
head. The Chinese lanterns, trees, soldiers, and sky 
suddenly change places and dance before my eyes in wild 
and inextricable confusion, and the next instant I enjoy a 
view of the whole scene from an elevated position of ten 
feet, and look down on a sea of up-turned faces and out- 
stretched arms. Into these I sink, until I almost touch 
the ground, and then again I mount to the stars. So, up 
and down, up and down, till my brain whirls, and my 
senses become dazed, and everything around is mixed into 
one confused and blurred picture. At length, after what 
appears to me an age, I find myself lying on the carpet, 
among the remnants of the feast, almost senseless and 
wholly breathless. 

" The hug of the Kussian bear is rough, but it is 
hearty," said the Grand Duke, shaking me by the hand 
and confirming the initiation I had just received at the 
hands of his men. 



328 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

It had now grown late, and the Grand Duke began to 
think of returning to his camp. Everybody opposed his 
leaving in the most energetic manner ; but finding him 
determined on going, they at last reluctantly consented 
to his departure. He then shook hands with them all 
round, the soldiers responding with marks of the greatest 
devotion and afi'ection. Then they formed themselves 
into a grand escort, to conduct him back to his camp. 
We mounted our horses, and every soldier seizing a torch 
went in front to show the way. In the darkness we 
followed them through many sinuous turnings, they all 
the time continuing to shout and sing, and indulge in all 
the expressions of wild enjoyment. 

After a quarter of an hour's march, we found ourselves 
— exactly where we had started. Our guides professed to 
have lost their way, and now represented to the Grrand 
Duke the impossibility of reaching home in the darkness. 

The Grand Duke, however, was still resolved to return ; 
and once more we started forth with the same escort, the 
same flaming torches, and amid the same shouts and 
singing. But again there was a disappointment, for we 
found the road inundated, so that it was difficult and 
even dangerous to proceed. The soldiers had let the 
water in by cutting the banks of a canal, and thus 
making the Grand Duke a prisoner, obliged him to stay 
all night with them. He took the joke pleasantly enough, 
and laughingly consented — when he could have no longer 
refused — to remain. 

After more singing, more dancing, and more drinking, it 
was decided to retire to rest. The troops and officers here, 
being for the most part without tents or kibitkas, had 
constructed very comfortable little houses out of reeds 
plaited into mats. Into one of these the Grand Duke 



THE GEAND DUKE MUST STAY. 329 

and I were led. We found beds made for us, the floors 
carpeted, and every other preparation for passing the 
night comfortably. We threw ourselves on our beds, and, 
after such a banquet, sleep came sound and soon. 

Nicholas Constantinovitch returned to St. Petersburg 
soon after, and I have never seen him since. His conduct 
throughout the campaign was exemplary. Fresh from a 
life of luxurious ease in St. Petersburg, he showed what 
stuff he was made of by the way in which he endured 
the terrible cold of the first part of the campaign, and 
afterwards the scorching heat at Khala-ata and Alty- 
Kuduk. Under fire he showed all the coolness and 

bravery of a veteran. 

24 



330 CAMPAIGNINa ON THE OXUS. 



CHAPTEE XIX. 

TWO RUSSIAN PORTRAITS — ANDREI ALEXANDROVITOH. 

xIndrei Alexandrovitch comes of one of the oldest fami- 
lies of Eussia. This is saying a good deal, for some of 
these old Eussian families can trace their genealogy back 
to the eighth century, when they were reigning houses 
of the then disjointed Muscovite people. In this long 
descent of a thousand years, Andrei's family has degene- 
rated little ; and many of them still retain that physical 
strength and power of endurance which made their an- 
cestors kings. It is no uncommon thing to find among 
them, as among many other families of rank, a man who 
will break a five-franc piece with his fingers with as 
great apparent ease as if it were lead. The relatives 
of Andrei retain all their ancient pride of race ; and 
no Hohenzollern glories more proudly in his ancient 
lineage. 

The parents of Andrei Alexandrovitch have a large 
estate in the environs of Kharkoff, were formerly the 
owners of several hundred serfs, and are very rich. 
Andrei's father served with distinction in the wars of 
Napoleon, attained a high rank, and won several decora- 
tions. He not unnaturally wished his son to follow in 
the same honourable career ; and he easily obtained for 



THE GUAED. 331 

Andrei, who was a handsome boy, admission into the corps 
des pages in the Imperial household at a very early age. 
Here Andrei was petted by the ladies, and patted on the 
head by a Grrand Duke, or sometimes even by the 
Emperor. He learned to dance, sing, and fence ; to return 
compliment for compliment, and sarcasm, for sarcasm, 
and all the other accomplishments which are supposed 
to win the favour of ladies and distinction among men. 
Having, after a time, entered the military school, he in 
due course graduated as an ensign, and entered the 
Guard. 

Now the Guard is the rock on which every Russian 
splits. Everybody in Eussia enters the Guard. It is the 
fashionable thing to do. You will not find a man with 
the least pretension to respectability who has not been 
at some time or other in this favoured corps. It is the 
cor2)s d' elite of the Empire, and is the centre of all that 
wild whirl of dissipation, of extravagance, and folly for 
which St. Petersburg is so famous. It requires a cooler 
head and a more phlegmatic disposition than most Eus- 
sian young gentlemen possess to steer through this 
vortex of dissipation without suffering financial ruin ; and 
the Guard, it may be safely asserted, is responsible for 
three-fourths of the wrecked careers of which there are so 
many in Eussian society. This fact does not seem to 
produce any warning influence on anxious parents ; and 
it produces far less, of course, upon their hopeful sons 
just entering upon their career. In spite of the hundreds 
of examples before them, parents exhaust every effort to 
obtain admission for their sons into the Guard, and look 
upon a commission in that corps as the most brilliant and 
desirable start in life. As to the young men themselves, 
they all evince that faculty for imitation and that 



332 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

lamentable want of originality whicli have been always 
regarded as the peculiar characteristics of sheep. 

Andrei Alexandrovitch proves no exception to the 
rule. Three years of life in the Gruard suffices to ruin 
him. In that time he has managed to squander his 
fortune and his credit, and to get himself, besides, head 
over ears in debt. He is obliged to leave the Gruard, 
because he can pay his way there no longer, and falls 
back into a regiment of the line. 

Andrei now passes a certain time in what may be 
called a transition state ; dodging his creditors, " doing " 
landlords and restaurant proprietors, and generally living 
from hand to mouth by the aid of his wits and his skill 
in card- playing. But this cannot go on for ever; and 
Andrei Alexandrovitch at last finds himself compelled to 
choose one of three different courses. He may marry the 
daughter of a rich tradesman, and so re-establish his 
fortunes ; he may try his chance in a civil profession ; or 
he may go to Turkistan. 

Andrei Alexandrovitch feels no liking just yet for the 
quiet joys of conjugal existence ; he has no taste for a 
civil career ; while in Turkistan there is the still attrac- 
tive abandon of a soldier's life, with double pay and double 
chance of promotion. For Turkistan has now taken the 
place of the Caucasus as the refuge of men like Andrei, 
ruined in fortune, but still hopeful of the future. Sc 
Andrei bids adieu to his friends in St. Petersburg, 
reaches Kazala, and is immediately sent forward to take 
part in the siege operations against Ak-Mesdjid. 

On the day of his arrival he finds everything prepared 
for an assault, and immediately volunteers to lead the 
forlorn hope. His bravery wins him a decoration and 
two grades, and fortune once more seems to smile upon 



REDUCED TO THE RANKS. 333 

him. But Andrei Alexandrovitcli possesses the faculty of 
defeating his own fortunes faster than a hundred fairy 
godmothers could mend them. 

One morning he takes a walk outside the town, 
to visit the kibitka of a young lady of the Kirghiz 
race, whose charms haye some attraction for him. In 
the kibitka he finds his brother officer, Stefan Ivano- 
vitch. Now Stefan Ivanovitch is one of the few men 
for whom Andrei has no love. Already they have had 
more than one quarrel in their cups and over the 
card-table ; and Andrei, whose pugnacious disposition is 
notorious, has been advised by more than one friend to 
avoid meeting Stefan as much as possible. Andrei had 
promised to obey the suggestion ; but, of course, a meeting 
so unexpected and in such peculiar circumstances could 
only end in a duel. The duel comes off, and Stefan 
receives a bullet through the heart at the first shot. 
Andrei is brought before a court-martial and reduced to 
the ranks ; for in the Kussian army an officer may be, and 
often is, reduced to the rank of a common soldier. Thus 
Andrei not only loses all that he had won in Turkistan, 
but something more. 

In Central Asia, however, where more or less fighting 
is always going on, a brave officer does not long re- 
main without an opportunity of distinguishing himself. 
After two or three years, Andrei rises to his old rank 
and gains two or three decorations more. Meantime 
the Eussians have been advancing in Turkistan, and 
General Tchernaieff has sat down before the walls of Tash- 
kent. Here Andrei has another opportunity of distin- 
guishing himself, and he takes advantage of it in the 
following manner : — 

In the course of the siege operations he becomes 



334 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

involved in a quarrel with a brotlier officer, who throws 
some imputation on his courage. Andrei, without any 
more ado, proposes to his assailant that they should 
together make an assault on the walls. Without any 
orders, the two officers draw up their men in line 
and rush to the assault. There is a wide and deep 
ditch to cross, the walls are about thirty feet high, 
no breach has been battered, and the soldiers have no 
ladders. The result may easily be imagined. One 
half of the men are left in the ditch; the other half 
retreat with difficulty from the impossible and absurd 
enterprise, under a terrible fire from the walls; Andrei 
Alexandrovitch himself receives three wounds, and has 
to be carried off the field by his men ; whilst his opponent 
is left amongst the dead. For this little feat he is once 
again reduced to the ranks. 

During the next few years he has but few oppor- 
tunities of distinguishing himself; so he leads a listless, 
careless, vagabond sort of life, which is, in Central Asia, 
not without its charms. He spends nearly every day in 
the same round of smoking, drinking vodka, and playing- 
cards, varied only by an occasional hunt for tigers, 

Andrei Alexandrovitch was one of the first men who 
addressed me when I reached General Kaufmann's army ; 
and the acquaintance, thus begun, rapidly ripened into 
intimacy, and even friendship. At this time, after twenty 
years' service, he has attained the elevated rank of ensign. 
This disparity between his age and rank does not, how- 
ever, strike you as unbecoming ; for the fellow seems to 
have the gift of perpetual youth. Though now close upon 
forty, he looks scarcely more than twenty, despite the 
wild, reckless life he has led. 

I found him to be the best of good fellows, and generous 



RECEIVES TWO DECORATIONS. 335 

to a fault. Utterly careless as to the future, he would 
spend one morning the £20 he had won at cards the 
night before on a breakfast to his brother officers, 
and next day borrow money to buy tea and sugar for 
himself and barley for his horse. Brave as a lion, he 
would lead a forlorn hope, start on a three months' 
march across the desert, or go on parade with equal cool- 
ness and indijBference, and with about the same amount of 
preparation. In fact, he had entered on the Khiva cam- 
paign with only three days' supply of provisions. 

Andrei Alexandrovitch is a good linguist, but by no 
fault of his. When he was a child, he had English, 
French, and German governesses : and he thus learned 
these languages as he had learned his own, without 
study or application. He has now spent several years in 
Turkistan, yet he knows scarcely a word of the Tartar 
language. Whatever he knows of military affairs — and 
he knows a great deal— he has learned, not from books, 
but from actual experience. He has literary talent, too,, 
of no mean order, and can coin French verses with a 
facility which is remarkable. 

After the Khivan campaign he received two decorations 
the Saint Vladimir and the Saint Anne. He was offered 
promotion, likewise, but this he refused. " You see," 
said he to me, " the difference between the pay of an 
ensign and that of a lieutenant is so small that it is not 
an object. At my age, I would just as soon be one as the 
other. It is not everybody either that can be an ensign 
at thirty-eight." 

" I think I would prefer the promotion to the deco- 
ration," I observed. " Ah, there you would be wrong. I 
have a respected maternal relative who, when she hears 
I have won the Yladimir — the highest order, you know,. 



336 CAMPAIGNING- ON THE OXUS. 

next to Saint George — will probably come down with 
twenty thousand rubles." " How long do you think that 
will last you when you get it ? " I ask. " Why a year or 
two, perhaps. No use in having money unless you spend 
it, and get something for it, you know." 

Andrei Alexandrovitch is a slightly exaggerated type of 
the Eussian officer in Turkistan — I might say of a large 
class of officers throughout the entire empire. They have 
not all been reduced to the ranks several times, and they 
are not all ensigns at forty; but the career of each of 
them is parallel to that of Andrei Alexandrovitch in 
every other particular. They have all been in the Guard ; 
they have all squandered their fortunes in it ; they 
have all followed faithfully in the beaten track of their 
predecessors. All are careless of the future, determined 
to make the most of the present ; and all lead the 
same easy, indifferent, vagabond kind of life. They pass 
most of their time in playing cards ; the mania of the 
Eussians of all classes, indeed, for play is most excessive. 
I have seen them sit down and play for forty-eight hours, 
scarcely ever rising from the table during the whole time. 
I had thought only savages could evince such a passion 
for gaming ; and the truth is, this passion among the 
Eussians is a relic of barbarism, which still clings to them. 

They never study; and they no more bother their heads 
about the future operations of the army, or even the 
orders for the morrow, than does one of their own soldiers. 
In most armies on a campaign like the present, the 
officers would all know and discuss the plan of opera- 
tions, the movements about to be made, and what would 
be required for their execution. They would all have 
maps and all the information to be obtained regarding 
the route over which they were marching. 



THE LIKES OF THE EUSSIAN OFFICERS. 337 

This was not tlie case with the Eussians. They neither 
knew nor cared what were the movements to be made, nor 
their chances of success. Of the orders for the morrow, 
the preparation that might be required for their execu- 
tion, they knew nothing. None of them except, of course, 
two or three of the staff, had maps ; and none of them 
even knew how far it was to the next well. They simply 
obey orders, no matter what they are; and the possi- 
bility of executing an order is a thing they never 
discuss. 

Although all good linguists, there were not three officers 
in the whole of Kaufmann's detachment that knew the 
language of the country. 

It is not to be supposed from this that the Eussians are 
poor officers. They are as brave as lions; and there is 
not one among them that would hesitate to lead a forlorn 
hope, or that would not walk up to certain death with 
as much coolness as to dinner. They obey orders 
with a kind of blind, unreasoning heroism, that is only 
equalled by that of their own soldiers. Generous, kindly, 
pleasant fellows withal, ever ready to offer you their 
hospitality or do you a favour, they are sure to win your 
affection and esteem. 

The Eussian officers have very strong likes and dislikes. 
For the Americans and the French they have feelings of 
the utmost friendliness. They speak, by preference, the 
French language; love French literature and French 
music ; and they endeavour to imitate French ways of 
living. And their sympathies in the last war were alto- 
gether with France. The Germans they detest as cor- 
dially as they like the French ; and, indeed, a Frenchman 
hates the German with a hatred scarcely more bitter 
than that of the Eussian, civilian or soldier. The origin 



338 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

of this hatred must be sought in the time of Peter the 
Grreat. When that monarch determined to introduce 
Western civilisation into his empire, he had, of course, 
to cast about among foreigners for the men to carry out 
this purpose. He naturally selected Germany, as the 
country nearest to him, and G-ermans were chosen to fill 
the highest offices in the state, civil and military. The 
jealousy thus created still lasts ; for many of the descend- 
ants of the Germans— although they are now, of course, 
thorough Kussians — still occupy foremost places in the 
country. And thus it is that Eussia is filled with hatred 
for Germany, that has been so often her most steadfast 
friend ; and with love for France, that has been in past 
times her greatest enemy. The feelings of the Eussian 
officers towards the English are very difi'erent. They 
look upon the English, if not with liking, at least with a 
good deal of respect : but none the less anticipate a time 
when the collision of Eussian and English interests may 
bring Eussian and English armies into conflict. But into 
such a contest they would bring no feeling of national 
and ineradicable hate. And just as Eussian and English 
officers, during the days of truce at the Crimea, smoked 
cigarettes, and exchanged friendly and courteous conver- 
sation with each other, so Eussian officers would fight 
with Englishmen without any great personal grudge, 
but, on the contrary, with a chivalric feeling of respect 
and esteem. 



THE EUSSIAN PEASANT. 339 



CHAPTER XX. 

IVAN IVANOFF. 

Ivan Ivanoff is a soldier in the regiment of Andrei 
Alexandrovitcli. 

Ivan Ivanoff was born the serf of Andrei Alexandre vitch, 
and he is a very different sort of person from that young 
gentleman. In order to form a just estimate of the cha- 
racter of Ivan Ivanoff, it will be necessary to know some- 
thing of his father, Ivan Michailoff. Ivan Michailoff is a 
peasant ; and his fathers have been, for generations, serfs 
of the fathers of Andrei Alexandrovitch. He has never 
known anything but the severest toil and the hardest fare. 
Until emancipated, he had to work for his master four 
days out of the seven, finding his own food, implements, 
and horses ; and had to support himself and family by his 
labour during the other three days. 

When it is remembered that half the year in Russia one 
cannot work at all, owing to the deep snow, it will be 
easily imagined that Ivan does not make a very good living. 
Often, after performing a hard day's labour for his master, 
he would work half the night for himself; and he never 
tasted anything but soup and black bread. He lives in a 
hut consisting of one room, in which the children — girls 
and boys, old and young — all herd together. His grown 



340 CAMPAIGNINa ON THE OXDS. 

sons, with their wives and their children, live with 
him in the same house, and the same room. Under these 
circumstances, it can hardly be expected that Ivan 
Michailoff should be distinguished for education, enlight- 
enment, or refinement. He is, on the contrary, rather 
remarkable for the absence of these qualities. He is 
ignorant and superstitious to the last degree ; but Ivan 
Michailoff has, nevertheless, some good points. He is 
neither brutal nor cruel by nature, nor is he the slave of 
any degrading vices. He has some independence of 
thought, too ; and although religious and pious in the 
extreme, has more or less contempt for his priest, who is 
scarcely less ignorant than himself. Ivan Michailoff's 
weak point is that of Napoleon I. It is his fatalism. 
It affects him in a different way, however; instead of 
making him hope all, and risk all, it makes him despair. 
He emphatically does not believe in his star. He does 
not even know he has a star ; or, if he does, he considers 
it a baleful star — a star to be mistrusted, doubted, and 
detested. 

If his house gets on fire, it is the will of God; 
and he lets it burn. It would be flying in the face of 
Providence to attempt putting it out. If he gets sick, he 
refuses to take medicine for the same reason. If he has 
the misfortune to make a mistake, and appropriate goods, 
chattels, or moneys belonging to another, he maintains it 
was CJiort, the devil, who drove him to do it, and declines 
to take any responsibility in the matter. 

The truth is, Ivan Michailoff feels that he is not a free 
agent. Centuries of oppression, ages of tyranny through 
which his ancestors have passed — the iron hand of des- 
potism that he himself has always felt upon his throat, 
hard, unrelenting, and inexorable, has rendered him thus 



TOEN FKOM HOME AND FEIENDS. 341 

fatalistic. Why resist the inevitable? Why struggle 
against the inexorable? Ivan's whole turn of thought 
and sentiment is, therefore, pervaded by a sombre tinge of 
sadness and depression. 

His stories all have tragic endings. Instead of Jack 
killing the giant by superior cunning and skill, it is the 
giant who kills and eats poor Jack. Ivan is persecuted 
and beset by vampires, and ghouls, and demons, from whose 
demoniac intelligence and pitiless voracity there is no 
escape. His songs are of hopeless love ; and his music all 
in the minor tones, weird and melancholy as a funeral 
dirge. 

Ivan Ivanoff, his son, is all this, and something more. 
Torn in early youth from village home and friends, to 
give fifteen or twenty of the best years of his life to the 
Tsar, he leaves all the hopes and desires of ordinary men 
far behind him. For twenty years he has nothing to look 
forward to but the routine of camp life. There are no 
pictures of wife and children, and pleasant fireside for 
him. Most of the friends of his youth he will never see 
again. He knows that long ere he returns to his village 
father and mother will be dead, sweetheart married, 
brothers and sisters grown old, and himself forgotten. 
His whole life has been changed ; he has become another 
kind of being. Perhaps the change at first was bitter ; 
he may have wept at it. His poor home was not very 
attractive and comfortable ; but it was home, nevertheless, 
and he will never see it again. But the great machine 
of State soon crushed him to uniformity, and moulded him 
to his place. Thenceforth he has only been an animated 
automaton, moved by a will far above and beyond his 
comprehension ; he has submitted blindly and unresist- 
ingly to his fate The iron yoke is so solidly fixed that 



342 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

he never thinks of trying to throw it off. It is not in his 
character to struggle against the inexorable. God has 
willed it. It would be sinful as well as useless to repine, 
and he determines to make the best of a hard lot. 

But amid the bustle and excitement of a soldier's life 
he loses the pensive sadness of his father, isolated in his 
remote far away village. He has little to hope, it is 
true; but then he has nothing to lose, and that is 
a source of unhappiness removed, and he becomes the 
merriest fellow in the world. 

Ivan's chief source of amusement is singing. He sings 
from morning until night. On the march he keeps it up 
for hours. He has songs five hundred verses in length, 
which he sings through from beginning to end, with much 
apparent consolation and satisfaction. In the midst of 
the desert — at Irkibai, at Khala-ata, at Alty-Kuduk, when 
the heat was terrible, and he had an allowance of a pint 
of water a day, you might have seen him, at almost any 
hour, with fifteen or twenty comrades standing around in 
a circle, singing at the top of his lungs. It must be re- 
marked, too, that he regards this act of singing as a 
matter of importance : a task not to be performed negli- 
gently. Therefore, when he sings, he stands up ; and his 
comrades gather around him, serious and attentive, and 
join in the chorus, which occurs at the end of almost 
every line. There is something exaggerated in his good- 
humour. The indecency of some of his songs is so 
grotesque as to lose all character of indecency, and to 
be only laughably absurd and ridiculous. 

Ivan Ivanoff has a confidence in the integrity and ability 
of his officers, which is highly commendable and edifying. 
He believes them to be infallible; he is sure they 
always do the best thing that is to be done, and in the 



STOLIDLY HEKOIC. 343 

very best way. Therefore he never mutinies. Another 
soldier may grumble if he have not milk for his coffee, or 
meat at least once a day. Ivan is far above complaining 
of such trifles. If no meat is given him, it is evidently 
because there is none. Or if the meat furnished is rotten, 
it is because of the hot weather, and there is no help 
for it. If his shoes are worthless, and his feet get frozen, 
it is by reason of the cold. If his biscuits are worm-eaten, 
it is the fault of the worms. He never thinks of blaming 
anybody. If by any bungling mistake he is brought 
under fire, where his comrades fall around him by the 
hundred, and his regiment undergoes sure annihilation, it 
is the will of Grod, and must be submitted to. Nor does 
it ever occur to him to correct the judgment of his 
officers by running away. In short, Ivan Ivanofif thinks, 
with Pope, that whatever is is right, and therefore is 
willing to take things as they are. He will live happily 
on black bread and tea, and never think of complaining. 

Ivan Ivanoff has nobody to love but his comrades and 
his officers ; and them he loves passionately, although in a 
stolid, unconscious sort of way. It is no uncommon thing 
for eight or ten soldiers to be killed in attempting to 
carry off a wounded comrade. There is nothing melo- 
dramatic about Ivan, either. He will make the most heroic 
exertions without even being aware that he is doing any- 
thing out of the way, or that merits commendation. There 
is a kind of unconscious heroism about Ivan that is sublime. 
This is what made Napoleon say of him, " It is not enough 
to kill a Eussian soldier ; you must knock him down." 

Ivan has peculiar notions about foreigners. For him 
they are all rebels against the Tsar. English, French, 
German, or Asiatics, they are all insurgents alike ; and he 
looks forward with pleasure to the early subjection of all 



344 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

the races of mankind to tlieir rightful sovereign. Ivan 
never seems to have any personal ill-will against his foes ; 
he never calls them names. Apart from the fact of their 
being rebels, he is ready to acknowledge that they are a 
very good sort of people. He will even admit that they 
are very brave. You never, therefore, hear him express 
contempt for his enemies, which is so common a thing 
among other soldiers. This is one reason, perhaps, why 
he never becomes panic-stricken. He is never astonished 
by any sudden attack on the part of the foe, for it was 
only what was to be expected. 

In short, Ivan Ivanoff is the officer's ideal of the soldier ; 
and, everything considered, is the best soldier in the 
world. 

The whole story of his life is well told in one of his 
own songs, translated by Mr. Robert Michell. 

For God and for the Tsar, 
I've served iu peace and war 
These five-and-twenty years. 
I left, when young, my house and kin, 
My wife and child; and theirs the sin, 
Who sold me for a bribe and parted us in tears. 
I'm not so old, though wrinkled, scarr'd, and worn. 
I've bearded the Turk; 
I've snatched the threat'ning dirk, 
And stuck the mountaineer ; 
I've toiled, and marched, and bled. 
Nor rested under shed, 

Nor broken bread for days ; and borne these woes 
To spread the faith and lay the Emperor's foes. 
For God and for the Tsar, &c. 

My term at last expired, — 
Bleeding, infirm, and tired, — 

I drained a parting cup; 
Embraced my comrades well; 
Brushed off the tears that fell, 

Then gave my bayonet up. 



FOR GOD AND FOR THE TSAR.. 345 

I took my pass and pay, — 
Due at three groats a daj' ; 
A pipe, and hardened crust 
Within my bosom thrust ; 
The money safely placed 
-Within my boots, I faced 
The road, and went — 
To Holy Kief bent. 
An ashen staff my rest. 
And all my pride — my medals on my breast. 

For God and for the Tsar, 

I've served in peace and war 

These five-and- twenty years. 
25 



PAET III. 



THE TURCOMAN CAMPAIGN. 



BRAVE, TURBULENT, NOMADIC. 349 



CHAPTEE I. 

THE TURCOMANS. 

The Turcomans are the bravest and most warlike race of 
Central Asia. 

They are a nomadic people, scattered over nearly all 
the country between the Oxus and the Caspian, as far 
east as Afghanistan, and as far south as the frontier of 
Persia. Their means of existence are various ; those on 
the shores of the Caspian live in great part on fish ; those 
farther east and north on their flocks and herds. But 
one of their principal resources hitherto has been catching 
Persians, and selling them as slaves in Khiva and Bokhara. 

Parts of six tribes have settled in Khiva, viz., the 
Imrali, numbering 2500 kibitkas ; the Chaudors, 3500 ; 
the Karadashli, 2000 ; the Kara Jigeldi, 1500 ; the Alieli- 
Igoklens, 1500; the Yomuds, 11,000 :— in all, 22,000 
kibitkas, which, at an average of five persons to the 
kibitka, would make a population of 110,000 souls. 

A wild and turbulent people, they have never been sub- 
jected to any regular form of government, and flout all 
authority, whether of Khan, Emir, or Tsar. 

Each tribe is divided into many smaller subdivisions, 
which probably are formed by family ties and connec- 
tions, and which are presided over by head men, or chiefs. 



350 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

But the state does not exist among the Turcomans. There 
is no body politic, no recognised authority, no supreme 
power, no higher tribunal than public opinion. Their head 
men, it is true, have a kind of nominal authority to settle 
disputes; but they have no power to enforce decisions. 
These the litigants can accept, or fight out their quarrel, 
just as they please. And yet they have such well-defined 
notions of right and wrong as between themselves, and 
public opinion is so strong in enforcing these notions, 
that there are rarely dissensions or quarrels amongst 
them. 

The Khan of Khiva has never been able to exert any 
control over the Turcomans inhabiting his dominions. 
In fact, the reverse is nearer the truth, for they 
always have exercised a very decided control over him. 
While allowing him a kind of nominal authority as ruler 
of their neighbours, the Uzbegs, they resist all attempts 
to extend that authority over themselves. Although in- 
truders on Khivan territory, they decline to bear any 
portion of the general burden ; and so far from paying any 
taxes, are rather disposed to exact tribute. They are 
always ready to fight for the Khan, however — when not 
fighting against him ; and it is on them he principally 
relies for his soldiers. They have given over their nomadic 
mode of life to a great extent, but they have by no means 
abandoned- their predatory habits. This has given rise 
to a continual feud between them and the Uzbegs ; 
scarcely a year passing without a fight between them. 
Indeed it was the marauding propensities of the Turco- 
mans that furnished the principal pretext for the Eussian 
invasion of Khiva. 

The Khan has several times tried to subdue them, but 
always without success. In spite of their want of artillery. 



THE KHAN AND THE TURCOMANS. 351 

they have been able to bold their own against very- 
superior numbers, and to exert a very powerful influence 
on the affairs of the Khanate, 

The Khan's usual plan of operation is as follows. He 
assembles an army, marches into their country, camps, and 
fortifies himself. The Turcomans instantly attack, or 
pretend to attack, galloping around the camp, shouting, 
yelling, firing their matchlocks, and cutting off small 
bodies of the Khan's troops who may rashly expose them- 
selves outside of their earthworks. The Khan replies by 
throwing solid shot at them from his cannon ; but as it 
requires the expenditure of several tons of iron in this way 
to kill a single man, the damage to the Turcomans is very 
small. As the Khan never marches out of his camp, their 
respective rules are reversed, and instead of his subduing 
the Turcomans, it becomes a question of their subduing him. 
This usually continues for some weeks. The Turcomans 
enjoy the thing immensely, and this time is for them a kind 
of holiday. When the Khan has expended all his muni- 
tions, and exhausted his provisions — the Turcomans easily 
succeed in cutting off his supplies — he makes a treaty with 
them, which changes their relations in nothing, then 
marches back in triumph to his capital, and then^ — the 
Turcomans resume their ordinary occupations. 

Everything considered, however, the Khan had more 
reason to be satisfied with the Turcomans than otherwise. 
In spite of these little misunderstandings, they were 
always faithful to him. Although they refused to ac- 
knowledge his supremacy over themselves, they helped 
him willingly enough to maintain his authority over 
others. If they refused to pay taxes, or allow any 
interference in their affairs, they were ever ready 
to draw the sword in his defence, to protect him 



352 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

against domestic pretenders and foreign foes. It was 
they who made the only serious resistance offered the 
Eussians ; it was they who continued the struggle after he 
himself had abandoned it as hopeless ; and when, terror- 
stricken by the bombardment of General Yerevkin, he 
fled the city, and his own subjects turned on him, and 
elected his brother Khan in his stead, it was with the 
Turcomans he found a refuge. Forgetting all this, the 
services they had rendered him, the fidelity and bravery 
they had displayed in his cause, he denounced them to the 
Eussians as robbers and outlaws. During the course of 
the negotiations with Kaufmann, relating to the payment 
of the war indemnity, he declared he could not take the 
responsibility of the payment of their portion ; that they 
never had paid anything in the shape of taxes ; that they 
would not now; and that it was beyond his power to 
compel them. More than this, in order to regain pos- 
session of his cannon, he even asserted that without 
artillery he could not keep them in check, nor even assure 
his own safety on the throne. 

Kaufmann, having no use for the cannon, returned the 
Khan eighteen or nineteen of the twenty-one pieces 
captured at the fall of the city — a fact which shows that 
the Eussians feel very sure of their own strength. As to 
the Khan's representations, they may not have influenced 
Kaufmann-in the course he adopted towards the Turcomans; 
he had already determined to take the collection of the 
war indemnity into his own hands. 

He accordingly issued a proclamation ordering the 
Yomuds to pay 300,000 rubles— about £41,000— about 16s. 
to each man, woman, and child — within two weeks. To 
this they replied by sending several deputations, promising 
to pay, but asking for time, assuring him that so large a 



KAUFMAJNJN DETEEMINES TO INVADE. 353 

sum could not be collected on so short a notice. Kauf- 
mann, nevertheless, determined to insist upon immediate 
payment. He therefore made preparations to invade 
their country, and attack them without giving them the 
time asked for. 

He was severely criticised for adopting this course by 
some of his officers. He knew very well, they said, it was 
not possible for the Turcomans to pay in the specified 
time : he had allowed himself to be hoodwinked by the 
Khan ; and was becoming a mere tool in his hands for 
the furtherance of his schemes of conquest over the Turco- 
mans. The officers were likewise of opinion that the 
Turcomans were more exact in fulfilling their promises 
than the Khan himself; and that, in spite of their some- 
what turbulent character, they were far better men than 
their neighbours the Uzbegs. 

Some of these views I do not agree with. I do not 
think that Kaufmann was so easily hoodwinked, nor that 
he allowed himself to be unduly influenced by the Khan's 
assertions. What he did, he did with a full knowledge of 
the case, and upon his own judgment. Kightly or 
wrongly, he professed to place no reliance on the Turco- 
mans' promises to pay ; and not to believe in their pro- 
fessions of future good conduct. They could not, he said, 
be relied upon to keep the peace until they should be 
completely crushed. Besides, he wished to conciliate 
the Uzbegs, who would only be too rejoiced to see their 
turbulent neighbours conquered, and reduced to submis- 
sion. In addition to this, they were an independent 
people, who flouted all authority — the unpardonable sin 
in the eyes of the Eussian government. It was necessary 
to make an example of them, and enforce obedience to 



354 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

royal authority, even though that authority were only 
personified in the person of the Khan of Khiva. 

For my part, I think Kaufmann was wrong, I think 
that of the two peoples, the Uzhegs and the Turcomans, 
it would have been better to»conciliate the latter. They 
are a better, braver, and nobler race. Almost free from 
Mohamedhan prejudices, and entirely exempt from the 
disgusting and degrading Mohamedhan vices, they would 
have made far more powerful and reliable allies than the 
degenerate, vice-stricken Uzbegs. Their bravery in the 
field, and their fidelity to the Khan, should rather have 
been recommendations in their favour. And it is a well- 
known fact, that of all the peoples of Central Asia the 
Turcomans are the only ones who can be relied upon to 
keep their promises. As to the Khan himself, cowardly, 
treacherous, and ungrateful, his wishes need not have been 
consulted at all. 

It will be said that the Turcomans are all slave-dealers, 
and that they deserve punishment, if only for that alone. 
These Turcomans, however, did not own as many slaves 
as the Uzbegs, and were not implicated in slave-dealing 
at all. It is the Tekki Turcomans, on the shores of the 
Caspian, who carry on the slave-trade, the horrors of 
which were so graphically described by Yambery. The 
Turcomans of Khiva were, therefore, less culpable than 
the Uzbegs. 

Whatever were Kaufmann's views with regard to the 
Turcomans, one thing he did was hardly justifiable. 
Twelve Yomuds who came to negotiate with him were 
seized and detained as prisoners. They were released 
during the campaign, but their detention was simply a 
breach of faith. 



ADVANClNa. 355 



CHAPTEE II. 

FIRE AND SWORD. 

The Yomuds, whom Kaufmann had decided to attack, 
are by far the most numerous and powerful tribe of 
Turcomans. They number 11,000 kibitkas, as many as 
the five other tribes together. 

On the 19th of July, five weeks after the fall of Khiva, 
a force, under Major-General Golovatchoff, composed of 
eight companies of infantry, eight sotnias of Cossacks, 
ten guns — including two mitrailleurs — and a battery of 
rockets, was advanced from Khiva to Hazavat, where the 
Yomud country commences. 

The way led through gardens, beneath overhanging elms, 
whose dark grsen foliage was reflected in the clear little 
pools lying dark and cool around their roots. The apricot- 
trees were still aglow with their golden rosy fruit ; 
miniature rice-fields, still green, were pleasantly varied 
by yellow stubbles of wheat and barley, now cut and 
gathered unsheaved in huge stacks like hay, waiting to 
be threshed by horses' feet. 

As we marched forward, the Uzbegs came out in groups, 
and offered us bread, fruit, and milk, and watched with 
wondering eyes the dread array of artillery, glittering 



356 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OX US. 

grimly in the sunshine, as it rolled noiselessly forward 
over the dusty road. 

Five miles from Khiva our way began to skirt the 
desert, which here made a deep inroad upon the oasis. So 
often do the arms of the desert run in such fashion into 
the cultivated land like sea-inlets, that the oasis of 
Khiva may be said to be made up of a series of 
small islands, between which and the surrounding desert 
there is a continual struggle for the mastery. The 
warfare here between sand and soil is unremitting and 
unending. The former, driven by the furious winds of 
the desert, sweeps over the frontier, and buries the rich 
soil with its vegetation far beneath. But the water pene- 
trates and permeates the sand, pouring in its rich deposits 
from the Oxus ; the sand itself becomes fertile, vegetation 
again appears, and the soil is victorious — to be again 
overwhelmed and buried. This contest must have been 
going on for centuries, without much advantage on either 
side. Within the last few years, however, the sand — 
judging by traces of former irrigation that may be seen in 
many parts of the desert — seems to be gaining ground ; 
but the line between soil and sand is as distinct and 
clearly defined as that between land and water. 

At eleven o'clock the advance reached the canal 
of Hazavat, sixteen miles from Khiva, and camped 
on its banks ; but the rear-guard did not arrive 
until five, to such a length had the column been 
drawn out by the narrow tortuous road. The canal 
on which we had camped served as an outlet for 
the superfluous water of the main arik of Hazavat, 
and emptied itself about a mile below us into the 
desert, where it formed a marsh. It was about thirty 
feet wide, and ten deep; the clear soft water poured 




TURCOMAN FARM -YARD. From a design by Verestchagin. 



AMONG THE YOMUDS. 357 

througli at the rate of five or six miles an hour. It may 
be stated that all of the principal canals of the oasis, 
receiving far more water than is necessary for the irri- 
gation of the land, have outlets of the kind, by which 
an immense amount of water is poured into the desert, 
and wasted by evaporation. This proves that, with a little 
exertion, the oasis might be extended much farther to the 
south than it now is ; and there is little doubt that, with 
the domination of the Kussians, this will be eventually 
done. 

Here the army remained encamped all next day ; osten- 
sibly for the purpose of seeing if the Turcomans 
would come forward and pay; really, I believe, because 
Greneral Golovatchoff, who did not much relish the ex- 
pedition, wished to give them an opportunity of escaping. 

The detachment again moved forward early on the 
morning of the 21st. A march of two hours brought us 
within the territory of the Yomuds. The country was 
rich and fertile, cut up everywhere by deep canals, whose 
banks were bordered with long lines of poplars, and the 
little prairies were covered with a rich growth of grass, 
with here and there thickets of brushwood. 

Agriculture among those people appears much less ad- 
vanced than among the Uzbegs. There were fewer fruit- 
trees ; less ground devoted to grain, and far more to pas- 
turage. The population was thinner, the dwellings much 
ruder. Nowhere did you find the heavy battlemented 
walls and beautiful elms that characterise the dwellings 
of the Uzbegs. The houses were generally low mud 
inclosures, comprising stables and winter dwellings beneath 
one roof, with a kibitka or two placed outside, in which the 
people always live in summer. Everything, in short, 



I 



358 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

denoted a people in the transition state between a no- 
madic and a settled life; a people who have not yet 
become sufficiently attached to their dwellings to make 
any attempts at beautifying them. 

The houses were all deserted. Not a single piece of 
furniture was left in the rooms, and the farm-yards were 
equally bare ; not a chick nor a child was to be seen. In 
some of the houses the fires were still smouldering — 
clear proof that the flight of the inhabitants was very 
recent. 

At this point the General halted the vanguard, and 
waited until the whole army got up. The Cossacks sepa- 
rated from the rest of the troops, and scattered themselves 
all over the country, while the infantry continued its 
march along the road. Soon, and unexpectedly, the 
meaning of this movement was revealed to me. 

I was still musing on the quietness and desolation of 
the scene, when all at once I was startled by a sharp 
crackling sound behind me. Looking round, I beheld a 
long tongue of flame darting upward from the roof of the 
house into which I had just been peering, and another 
from the stack of nicely-gathered unthreshed wheat near 
it. The dry straw-thatched roof flashed up like powder, 
and the ripe wheat-straw burned almost as readily. Huge 
volumes of dense black smoke rose out of the trees in 
every direction, and rolled overhead in dark ominous- 
looking clouds, coloured by the fiery glare from the fiames 
below. I spurred my horse to the top of a little 
eminence, and gazed about me. It was a strange, wild 
spectacle. In an incredibly short space of time flames 
and smoke had spread on either side to the horizon, and, 
advancing steadily forward in the direction of our course, 





TURCOMAN FARM -YARD. From a design by Verestchagin. 



FIRE ! 359 

slowly enveloped everytliiiig. Through this scene moved 
the Cossacks like spectres. Torch in hand, they dashed 
swiftly across the country, leaping ditches and flying over 
walls like very demons, and leaving behind them a trail 
of flame and smoke. They rarely dismounted, but simply 
rode up to the houses, applied their blazing torches 
to the projecting eaves of thatch, and the stacks of un- 
threshed grain, and then galloped on. Five minutes after- 
wards, sheets of seething flame and darkling smoke 
showed how well they had done their work. The entire 
country was on fire. 

In half an hour the sun was hidden, the sky grew dark ; 
for, as though the sudden lighting of so many fires had 
produced some change in the atmosphere, a rain set in — 
a thing almost unknown in Khiva, and which added one 
dismal feature more to the already dismal scene. It was a 
slow, drizzling rain, not sufficient to put out the fires, but 
only to beat off" the ashes and make them burn brighter, to 
drive down the smoke, and make it hang over the trees in 
heavy, sullen masses, darkening the air, and forming a 
lowering background to the blood-coloured flames. This 
was war such as I had never before seen, and such as is 
rarely seen in modern days. 

It was a sad, sad sight — a terrible spectacle of war at 
its destructive work, strangely in keeping with this 
strange wild land ! 

We moved slowly along the narrow winding road, the 
flames and smoke accompanying us on either flank, until 
about noon, when the vanguard reported the flying inha- 
bitants in sight ; a body of men on horseback had halted 
to parley with the advance-guard. When asked what 
they wanted, they replied, that they wished to know why 



360 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

the Eussians were invading their country. They had 
never made war on the Eussians ; why were the Eussians 
making war on them ? 

The guard invited them to go to General Grolovatchoff, 
who would listen to their complaints ; but, declining this 
offer, they launched forth into a torrent of threats. " "We 
are," they said, " many thousands, and if the Eussians 
overrun our country, severe shall be their punishment." 
And they were, they said, determined to fight. As this 
was all the Eussians wanted, there was nothing more to 
be said, and they galloped off to rejoin their flying 
companions. 

The Eussian cavalry was only too eager to give chase. 
Several times the ofiicer in command of the advance-guard 
sent back a messenger asking for permission to begin the 
attack. General Golovatchoff hesitated a long time, 
however, before issuing the order, with the motive, as it 
appeared to me, of giving the Turcomans a chance to 
escape. Among them were women and children in great 
numbers, and these he would, I think, have gladly spared. 

At length they were reported turning off into the 
desert, where they might laugh at our pursuit ; and if the 
attack was to be made, it must be done instantly. The 
order was at last given for the Cossacks to pursue the 
fugitives. As soon as I heard the order, I galloped forward 
to the head of the column. The troops were just on the edge 
of the desert, drawn up in double lines, each sotnia with 
its colours flying in the wind ; horses and men alike were 
eager for the fray. About two miles away to the south, 
just disappearing over the summit of a long, high, sandy 
ridge, were the flying Turcomans, an undistinguishable 
mass of men, women, and children, horses, camels, sheep. 



AFTER THE FLYING ENEMY. 361 

goats, and cattle, all rushing forward in wild frightened 
confusion. There are two or three thousand, perhaps, in 
all — merely a detachment of laggards from the main body, 
which is a few miles farther on. In two or three minutes 
they had disappeared over the brow of the hill, and were 
lost to view. 



362 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 



CHAPTER III. 

THE MASSACRE. 

Six sotnias of Cossacks were selected to pursue the enemy. 
Eiding along in front of their line, •! catch sight of Prince 
Eugene, who welcomes me to the front with a hearty 
shake of the hand, and kindly puts me in one of his 
squadrons, as a good point of ohservation. 

The order to advance is passed along the line, and in 
another moment we are dashing over the desert at a 
gallop. Ten minutes bring us to the summit of the hill, 
over which we had seen the fugitives disappear ; and we 
perceive them a mile farther on, crossing another low 
ridge. Already the body has ceased to be compact. 
Sheep and goats scatter themselves unheeded in every 
direction ; the ground is strewed with the effects that 
have been abandoned in the hurried flight — bundles 
thrown from the backs of camels, carts, from which the 
horses have been cut loose, and crowds of stragglers 
struggling wearily along, separated from friends, and 
rapidly closed in upon by foes. 

Down the little descent we plunge, our horses sinking 
to their knees in the yielding sand, and across the plain 
we sweep like a tornado. 

Then there are shouts and cries, a scattering discharge 




THE CHARGE. 
From a design by Verestikaghi, ' lUtistraied Lo7idon News.'' 



A PITEOUS SCENE. 363 

of firearms, and our lines are broken by the abandoned 
carts, and our progress impeded by the cattle and sheep 
that are running wildly about over the plain. It is a scene 
of the wildest confusion. I halt a moment to look about 
me. Here is a Turcoman lying in the sand, with a bullet 
through his head ; a little farther on, a Cossack stretched 
out on the ground, with a horrible sabre cut on the face ; 
then two women, with three or four children, sitting down 
in the sand, crying and sobbing piteously, and begging for 
their lives ; to these I shout " Aman, aman," " Peace, 
peace," as I gallop by, to allay their fears. A little 
farther on, more arbas or carts, carpets, and bed coverlets, 
scattered about with sacks full of grain, and huge bags 
and bundles, cooking utensils, and all kinds of household 
goods. 

Then more women toiling wearily forward, carrying 
infants, and weeping bitterly ; and one very fat old 
woman, scarcely able to carry herself, with a child in her 
arms, which I somehow take for her grandchild. Then 
camels, sheep, goats, cattle, donkeys, cows, calves, and 
dogs, each, after its fashion, contributing to the wild 
scene of terror. 

I am at first shocked at the number of Turcomans I see 
lying motionless. I can't help thinking that if all these 
be killed, there are no such deadly marksmen as the 
Cossacks. After a while, however, the mystery is ex- 
plained ; for I perceive one of the apparently dead Turco- 
mans cautiously lift his head, and immediately after 
resume his perfectly motionless position. Many of them 
are feigning death, and well it is for them the Cossacks 
have not discovered the trick. 

Delayed somewhat by the contemplation of these scenes, 
I perceive that I am left behind, and again hurry forward 



364 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

Crossing a little ridge, I behold my sotnia galloping along 
tlie edge of a narrow marsh, and discharging their arms at 
the Turcomans, who are already on the other side, hurriedly 
ascending another gentle slope. I follow down to the 
marsh, passing two or three dead bodies on the way. In 
the marsh are twenty or thirty women and children, up to 
their necks in water, trying to hide among the weeds and 
grass, begging for their lives, and screaming in the most 
pitiful manner. The Cossacks have already passed, paying 
no attention to them. One villainous-looking brute, how- 
ever, had dropped out of the ranks, and levelling his 
piece as he sat on his horse, deliberately took aim at 
the screaming group, and before I could stop him 
pulled the trigger. Fortunately the gun missed jSre, and 
before he could renew the cap, I rode up, and cutting him 
across the face with my riding-whip, ordejed him to his 
sotnia. He obeyed instantly, without a murmur ; and 
shouting " Aman " to the poor demented creatures in the 
water, I followed him. 

A few yards farther on there are four Cossacks around 
a Turcoman. He has already been beaten to his knees, 
and weapon he has none. To the four sabres that are 
hacking at him he can offer only the resistance of his 
arms ; but he utters no word of entreaty. It is terrible. 
Blow after blow they shower down on his head, without 
avail, as though their sabres were tin. Will they never 
have done ? is there no pith in their arms ? At last, after 
what seems an age to me, he falls prone in the water, writh 
a terrible wound in the neck, and the Cossacks gallop on. 
A moment later I come upon a woman, sitting by the side 
of the water, silently weeping over the dead body of her 
husband. Suddenly, my horse gives a leap that almost 
unseats me, my ears are stunned with a sharp, shrieking, 



CALLING THE EOLL. 365 

rushing noise, and, looking up, I behold a streak of fire 
darting across the sky, which explodes at last among the 
fugitives. It is only a rocket, but it is followed by 
another, and another ; and, mingled with the shrieks 
of women and children, the hoarse shout of the Cossacks, 
bleating of sheep and goats, and howling of cattle run- 
ning wildly over the plain, made up a very pandemonium 
of terror. This lasted a few minutes. 

Then the Turcomans gradually disappeared over another 
ridge, some in this direction, and some in that, and bugle- 
call sounds the signal for the reassembling of the troops. 
A.S we withdrew, I looked in vain for the women and children 
I had seen in the water. They had all disappeared ; and as 
I saw them nowhere in the vicinity, I am afraid that, 
frightened by the rockets, they threw themselves into the 
water, and were drowned. It was all the more pitiable, as, 
with the exception of the case I have mentioned, there 
was no violence oflfered to women and children. I even 
saw a young Cossack officer, Baron Krudner, punishing 
one of his own men with his sword for having tried to kill 
a woman. 

The roll having been called, search was made for the 
wounded, and the doctors immediately attended to the 
injuries of those who were found. A boy, thirteen or four- 
teen years of age, was picked up with a dangerous sabre 
cut in the head. He was accompanied by his mother, who 
was distracted with grief, and watched the doctor dress- 
ing the wound with wild, eager eyes. To her primitive 
ideas, it was scarcely credible that the same people should 
first try to kill, and then try to cure her son. When the 
•wound had been carefully dressed, and the doctor had 
assured her that the child would not die, she seized his 
hand and kissed it with a burst of grateful tears. 



366 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

For awhile we rested our horses ; then detaching a 
numher of Cossacks to drive in the captured sheep and 
cattle, some 2000 in number, we started off for the camp. 
Many a look we cast behind, for there stood in the midst 
of the vast desert a sight that our eyes unwillingly lost 
sight of. It was this mother, who sat watching with her 
daughter over the wounded boy. Around her lay the 
wreck of all her worldly wealth ; possibly not far away 
the dead body of her husband; and disappearing in the 
far distance were the routed ranks of her nation. So 
she stood a picture of ruin and despair. 



"BUENING AND EAVAGINO EVERYTHING. 367 



CHAPTEE IV. 

A PICTURE OF WAR, 

The next morning we continued our marcli, burning and 
ravaging everything as we proceeded. We left behind 
us a strip of country, about three miles wide, in which 
there was nothing left but heaps of smouldering ashes. 
The value of the wheat destroyed must have been many 
thousand rubles. Wishing to observe more closely the 
incendiary operations, I rode out with Prince Eugene, 
who had been ordered to burn everything on the right of 
the road. He did not seem to enter upon the operation 
with any great degree of zeal, but executed the order 
faithfully and conscientiously. The task was, of course, 
repulsive, but nevertheless had some very exciting and 
interesting features, combining just enough of lawlessness 
to make it gratifying to that spirit of destruction which 
probably exists in a latent state in even the most peaceable 
and civilised men. 

We galloped hither and thither, leaping ditches and 
walls, breaking through hedges and beating down gates ; 
marking our progress at every step by columns of smoke, 
and angry flames. 

The quietness of these households, which we thus 



368 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

destroyed, formed a queer contrast with the tum'alt and 
yiolence of our proceedings. Absolute silence reigned in 
them all. In many we could still find the traces of the 
tranquil everyday life of their late inhabitants— the marks 
of children's tiny feet, the remnants of women's house. 
hold work, the simple implements with which they plied 
their toil. 

Here they lived in quiet peaceful contentment — for 
whatever they had to do with war was far away in the 
Persian and Kussian frontiers — in their little oasis sur- 
rounded by the great desert, as isolated from the outside 
world as an undiscovered island in the South Pacific. 
But the torch was applied, and they learned all too dearly 
something of this great outside world. 

We seldom found anything in the houses. A few 
cooking utensils, sometimes a few chickens, which the 
Cossacks instantly seized, an old horse, or a young calf, 
unable to follow in the hurried flight, and often a cat 
sitting placidly on a wall or a roof, making her toilet, 
and complacently watching the proceeding, until the 
scorching flames drove her ofi". Sometimes, but rarely, 
we found a dog that had been left behind, or that, 
perhaps, with a cat-like instinct, had refused to leave 
the house, who ran ofl" at our approach, howling dismally. 
Once I was shocked by the terrified shrieking of a number 
of young puppies that had suddenly discovered them- 
selves in the midst of impassable flames. 

We breakfasted about ten o'clock on roast chicken, in 
an orchard adjoining a house we had set on fire. As we 
had left the infantry far behind, and were consequently in 
no hurry, we stretched ourselves on the grass under the 
trees, some to sleep, some to watch the flames, whose hot 
breath scorched and withered the trees, and sometimes 



A DESOLATED COUNTEY. 369 

reached lis in hot, angry puffs. The heavy hlack smoke 
hung in thick columns, and settled down over the trees, 
lialf hiding the Cossacks gleefully making their tea and 
the horses picketed in a line, and feeding luxuriously on 
the rich wheat of the Turcomans. Above all rose the 
* banner of Eussia. seen indistinctly through the smoke, 
flapping lazily, like some great vulture gloating over the 
sinister scene. 

We marched into camp by two o'clock in the after- 
noon, having made twelve miles from our last starting 
place, and halted for the rest of the day at a point forty 
miles from Khiva. 

The next day's march was like the preceding : we con- 
tinued our incendiary operations, applying the torch to 
everything that would burn, and leaving the country 
behind us a blackened waste. At noon we arrived on the 
plain of Kyzil-Takyr. This plain is barren, open, and 
sandy, with only one or two farmhouses within a circuit 
of several miles. In every direction, however, it was cut 
up by canals, in some of which there was still water, 
showing that the place had once been in a high state of 
cultivation. Some such war as this we were raging had 
probably turned the gardens into this bleak and barren 
desert. This was the place where Markosoff should have 
first struck the oasis after traversing the Turcoman desert. 
We camped on the plain about noon, near a house 
and garden that had apparently been abandoned a long 
time. 

The heat by this time had become excessive, so that it 
was necessary to halt a day, in order to rest the troops. I 
soon learned that a Turcoman boy had been captured in 
the course of the morning. Unconscious of all the storm 
around him, the poor lad had been found asleep in the 



370 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

shade of a tree near a house ; he was about twelve years 
old, but strangely hard-featured for a child, with very 
large head, prominent high cheek-bones and eyebrows, a 
short turned-up nose, yellow skin, and large black eyes, 
fierce and bright. He said he had neither father nor 
mother. His uncle, who used to take care of him, had 
gone off and left him while asleep. This desertion of the 
child, we afterwards discovered, was not intentional, for 
the uncle, when the campaign was concluded, hearing 
that the child was with the Kussians, came and claimed 
him, and manifested the greatest joy at seeing him again. 
The boy followed us during the campaign, and was made 
a kind of pet by the soldiers, who gave him a new suit of 
clothes from the plundered effects of his countrymen, a 
donkey to ride, and taught him Eussian. 

I profited by the time we lay here to visit the ruined 
fortress of Imukchir, near which we were camped. In 
extent it is about four acres, and the walls, which were 
in some places thirty feet high, were in a tolerable state 
of preservation ; moreover, they were built, not of sun- 
dried bricks, but of excellent fire-brick, a pale red in 
colour, six inches square, and an inch and a half thick ; 
all which showed that they were not of Khiva manu- 
facture. The fortress probably dates from either the 
Chinese or the Persian domination, "While here, the 
Yomuds, ^ho had been imprisoned at Khiva by order 
of Kaufmann, passed us on their way to rejoin their 
flying brethren. They had been liberated — after two 
of their number had been killed in an attempt to es- 
cape — with instructions to try and induce their country- 
men to accede to the Eussian demands, and pay the war 
indemnity. Judging from what followed, their efforts in 
that direction, if they ever made any, were of little avail. 



" A BAZAAR !" 371 

On the morning of the 24th we were again on the 
march. This day, however, there was no burning, as we 
were in one of those streaks of sand that cross the oasis 
where there was nothing to burn. In fact, we had by 
this time completely traversed the country of the Yo- 
muds, and had ravaged nearly 100 square miles of ter- 
ritory; and now we approached a part inhabited by 
the Uzbegs, who were friendly to us. On the way we 
found a Persian, who had been left for dead in the sands 
by the Yomuds. He had received no less than fifteen or 
twenty horrible sabre cuts. His wounds were dressed by 
the doctor, and he was put in an ambulance, but his life 
was despaired of for the moment, although I believe he 
eventually recovered. 

By ten o'clock we were again in sight of gardens and 
green trees, and by eleven we encamped among them, just 
on the edge of the desert, and about two miles from the 
town of Iliali. As we were pitching our tent, the 
welcome cry of " A bazaar !" was heard. Every one 
dropped whatever work he had in hand and rushed to 
the indicated spot. Our anxiety was intelligible, for we 
had been without either fresh bread, fruit, or milk for 
many days ; and a bazaar, as we knew, meant a supply 
of these longed-for dainties. 

The term " bazaar," I should explain, is applied to any 
place, great or small, rich or poor, in which anything is 
sold. Though the whole stock-in-trade consists of but a 
cartful of melons or a bagful of bread, the lofty-sounding 
word is used. In our bazaar we found five or six carts full 
of melons, hot wheaten-cakes, and jugs of milk. Need I say 
that we laid in a plentiful supply of these delicacies ? The 
place was kept by some twenty Uzbegs, who — as I have 

had already often occasion to remark — had throughout 

27 



372 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

the expedition food for the hunger and drink for the thirst 
of t!b.e Eussian invader. 

We pitched our tents in the shade of apple and poplar 
trees, spread our carpets on the grass, and soon our tea- 
urns were playing their welcome tune. After the heat, 
pleasant is the shade of these trees ; pleasant after fasting 
this delicious meal ; pleasant after a long march this 
stretch in the grass ! We give ourselves up to the im- 
pulse of the moment, talk but in languid monosyllables, 
and after a while let " tired eyelids fall on tired eyes." 

All at once the bugles sound an alarm : the Turcomans 
are reported approaching over the desert. Immediately we 
jump from the ground, tighten up our clothes, buckle on 
our revolvers, and climb upon carts, or other elevated 
vantage ground, to see the enemy's approach. 



A CLEVEE BTEATAGEM. 373 



CHAPTEE Y. 

THE SKIKMISH. 

They were leisurely approacliiiig in irregular masses over 
the desert, all on horseback, but apparently bent on a 
reconnaissance rather than an attack. 

In order to understand what follows, it must be remem- 
bered that we were encamped, as it were, between the 
desert and the gardens on the side of the road by which 
we had arrived. This road here entered the gardens, and 
continued along just inside their edges as far as the town 
of Iliali, two miles distant, and was completely hidden 
by the trees and walls. To the south and west was the 
desert, stretching away in a broad, slightly uneven plain 
covered with a little, low, weedy grass. 

It was on the desert side the Turcomans were advancing. 
Two companies of infantry had already been sent out to 
meet and skirmish with them, and orders were sent to the 
cavalry to prepare for action. General Golovatchoff and 
his staff had advanced just outside of the camp on a little 
eminence, from which they were watching the progress of 
events. 

I mounted and rode out to the skirmish line, now ad- 
vanced about half a mile from the camp. I found it 
deployed along the embankment formed by a dried-up 



374 CAMPAIGNINa ON THE OXUS. 

canal, the right under command of Colonel Dreschern, 
the left Tinder Colonel Navamlinsky. The Turcomans were 
about half a mile distant in considerable numbers, gal- 
loping backwards and forwards oyer the plain, but not 
showing any disposition to advance nearer. The sharp- 
shooters were firing occasional scattering shots, and there 
was from time to time the rattling crash of a mitrailleur, 
which did not seem, however, to produce any effect. 

This had gone on about a minute when, looking towards 
the camp, I saw rising over the trees, and moving rapidly 
along the road from Iliali, a dense cloud of dust evidently 
caused by a body of horsemen advancing at a gallop. 

It was an attack on the camp from the other side, and 
one which threatened to prove successful, as everybody — 
soldiers and officers — had gathered on the side next the 
plain, to watch the operations on our skirmish line ; and 
then the attacking party was covered by trees and walls. 

Nobody in camp as yet seemed to be aware of their 
approach, and it looked for a moment as though the 
Eussians were to be completely taken by surprise by one 
of the most simple and artless of ruses. The object of the 
enemy's appearance on the plain, and their apparently 
senseless galloping back and forth, was now evident. 

I wheeled my horse to give the alarm, when I perceived 
that Colonel Navamlinsky had seen the movement almost 
at the same moment, and was just wheeling his men pre- 
paratory to repelling it. In another second his troops 
were rushing forward at a run in the direction of the 
Iliali Eoad. 

By this time the Turcomans had emerged from the 
trees, and we could see their dark forms indistinctly in 
the dust, half-hid by the foliage of the bushes, not more 
than 200 yards from the camp. 



THE ENEMY ARE DOWN ON US ! 375 

Had the enemy boldly rode on then, sabre in hand, they 
would undoubtedly have gained at least a momentary 
victory over the Eussians, who, gathered on the other side 
of the camp, watching the proceeding on the plain, were 
entirely unconscious of the danger which threatened them. 
Instead of this, however, they stopped and commenced 
driving off the camels and horses that were wandering 
about near the camp. This gave time for the alarm to be 
sounded. The Eussians rushed to their arms, the soldiers 
forming in order of battle, without even the aid of their 
officers. 

In the meantime Navamlinsky had arrived within 200 
yards of the road, taking the Turcomans in the flank. 
He ordered a half-turn, with the rapidly succeeding com- 
mands, "Load," " aim," " fire." A sharp crash broke the 
air, as a volley of rifle-bullets went shrieking over the 
little meadow that separated us from the Turcomans. 
This was followed by three more volleys in rapid succes- 
sion from the American breech-loaders. A fire so heavy 
and well-directed was too much for the Turcomans, and 
wheeling their horses, they retreated as rapidly as they 
came. I saw several of them fall, and likewise saw their 
comrades halt and pick them up, in spite of the murderous 
volleys we were pouring in upon them. 

Had they dashed through the camp — which would have 
been a very easy matter — they would have entirely 
escaped this raking flank-fire and met a party of their 
comrades, who, as we soon learned, were making a diver- 
sion on the south. 

' On the south, a picket of five men had been placed only 
about 200 yards distant from the camp. While the 
events I have just related were going on, a short but 
desperate fight occurred between this picket and a body 



376 OAMPAiaNING ON THE OXUS. 

of Turcomans. How it happened was never known. A 
young officer, Lieutenant Kamenetsky, who was going the 
rounds, had arrived at this picket when the fight on the 
other side had commenced, and it is probahle that they 
were watching so intently the proceeding on the other 
side of the camp that they allowed themselves to be sur- 
prised. After the fight on our side was over, the bodies 
of the six were found, stripped naked and headless. 
That it should have occurred within 200 yards of the 
camp without being seen by anybody, speaks well of 
the skill and audacity of the Turcomans. 

In the meantime, four or five sotnias of Cossacks had 
advanced out on the plain where the enemy had first 
appeared, to see if they were disposed to give battle. 
Wishing to see as much as possible of this strange kind 
of warfare, I followed them, and was soon again with the 
combatants. 

The scene was somewhat amusing as well as picturesque. 

The Turcomans are hovering around in considerable 
numbers, but although they keep up a shouting and yell- 
ing, and gallop about, they show no disposition to come 
to blows, and their splendid horses make it impossible for 
us to get any nearer than they find convenient. We fire 
occasional shots at them, and ofier special inducements for 
attack, by getting in disorder, and shouting to them to 
come on ; but they decline. 

In fact, the whole thing is a kind of lark which we enjoy 
immensely. The horsemanship displayed by the Turco- 
mans is really admirable, and we can see that there is no 
lack of individual bravery among them. With discipline, 
they would be most formidable cavalry. 

They have old-fashioned ideas of chivalry, too, and dare 
us out to single combat. They advance, one, two, and 



A CHARGE. 377 

three at a time, within fifty yards of us, and salute us with 
their curved sabres, proffering at the same time divers 
remarks and observations in an unknown tongue — probably 
of a very personal nature. 

Some of our Circassians are anxious to go out and fight 
them, and, but for the prudence of the Colonel, we might 
have a series of splendid tournaments, ending possibly 
in a general hand-to-hand fight. Judging by what I saw 
afterwardsj I am now inclined to think it was well for us 
it did not end in that way. 

One fellow, on a splendid black horse, rides up within 
fifty yards of us, and halting, salutes us with a graceful 
movement of his sword. The Cossacks commence firing 
at him. Nothing daunted, he spurs his horse into a gentle 
canter, and passes along our whole line, while each 
Cossack in turn empties his piece at him. We can see 
where the bullets knock up the sand, sometimes under his 
horse's feet ; but he escapes unharmed, and returns to his 
own side, with evidently as great contempt for our mark- 
manship as for our bravery. 

" Would you like to take part in a charge ?" 

" Certainly." 

" I am going to take a sotnia, and charge that mass you 
see away there to the right. Tighten your saddle-girth, 
and get ready." 

It is Prince Eugene who has spoken to me. He wears 
a white uniform and white Cossack cap, with white hand- 
kerchief pinned to it to protect his neck, which makes his 
dust-begrimed, sun-burned face look as swarthy as a 
Moor's. 

We are drawn up in line — 100 of us, with drawn 
sabres. The Turcomans are distant some 300 yards, 
grouped in an irregular mass, numbering perhaps 300 oi 



378 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

400. " Gotovo !" " Charge !" shouts the Prince, and we 
are down on them like an avalanche. A cloud of dust, the 
panting of horses, the rattle of harness, a flash of sabres, 
and we are there. 

But the Turcomans are not. 

Three hundred yards further on we see them ; they are 
going in a gentle canter, not seeming to be in the slightest 
hurry, and evidently not in the least apprehensive of our 
overtaking them. We continue the chase a short dis- 
tance, with no result. It is exasperating. We might 
as well charge a flock of wild geese, and we give the 
thing up. 

After a little more skirmishing, without any loss to 
either party, we turn and start back to camp. The Yo- 
muds instantly wheel about, and follow us with derisive 
shouts, giving us to understand that they regard us as 
the most cowardly of cowards. 

We returned to the camp, paying little attention to 
them, however, with the exception of an occasional shot, 
when they got too close. They followed us to within half 
a mile of the camp, and then retired. On the way back 
we found the bodies of two of them that had been killed 
by the sharpshooters, one of whom had been shot through 
the head, and the other through the breast. These were, 
I believe, the only dead left on the field, though, from 
what I saw during the attack on the camp, they must 
have lost several by the fire of Navamlinsky's sharp- 
shooters. 

The Eussian loss was six in all, so that they rather had 
the advantage of us. 

The heat during the day had been excessive, and we 
were glad when we returned to camp to throw off our 
accoutrements and stretch ourselves under the shade of 



THE ENEMY VANISH. 379 

the trees on our carpets for a rest. We were soon gaily 
engaged in discussing the events of the day, together with 
a good dinner of roast mutton, milk, melons, and fresh 
wheaten cakes, hot from the ashes, which had been fur- 
nished us by the Uzbegs. 



380 CAMPAiaNING ON THE OXUS. 



CHAPTEE YI. 

AK INTERVAL. 

This attack by the enemy showed that they really meant 
to fight, and if they had carried it on as well as they had 
commenced, it might have gained a very serious advantage. 
We discovered that we had been estimating their courage 
far too lightly, and that they were by no means an enemy 
to be despised. We remained encamped here next day, 
inactive. The Uzbegs again brought us in provisions; 
and I thought how curious it was that they should have 
such unlimited confidence in us as to trust their property 
and lives within our grasp, when we were using their 
neighbours so harshly. For my own part, I could see but 
little difference between them and the Turcomans either 
in dress or complexion ; and it was only when they took off 
their heavy sheepskin caps, and showed the shape of their 
heads, that one could detect the difference. Even then it 
was in most cases difficult, as the two races, living so 
close together, have naturally intermingled, and the types 
peculiar to each have become more or less modified. In 
truth, for all we knew to the contrary, half of these 
Uzbegs may have been Turcomans who came in to recon- 
noitre. However, as there was no sure way of distin- 
guishing between them, and the Uzbegs not liking the 



BEGGING FOE PEACE. 38] 

Russians well enough, to denounce their brother Mahom- 
medhans, and as they would really understand nothing of 
Russian military ways when they saw them, no measures 
were taken to guard against spies. 

Another delegation of Turcomans came in during the 
day, apparently for the purpose of treating ; but I could 
find out nothing regarding the nature of their propositions 
further than that they were rejected. 

That they were willing to make peace, and that they 
had no particular ill-will against the Russians, was 
shown by the way in which they treated the troops of the 
Orenburg detachment that had passed through this same 
country only three weeks previously. 

All along the road they had come out in great numbers 
with melons, fruit, milk, and bread, which they offered in 
the most hospitable manner, without asking pay. And 
Count Shuvaloff afterwards told me the troops of this 
detachment, which was then some forty miles farther 
down the river near Kuna-Urgench, were living on the 
most friendly terms with the Turcomans, while we were 
burning and ravaging their country in every direction. 
He said some of the Yomuds even came to them, and 
tried to make an offensive and defensive alliance against 
our d'etachment. They said naively, "We have sworn 
friendship with you, and consider ourselves your allies. 
Now the other tribe of Russians from Turkistan are 
making war upon us, and we think you ought to help us 
against them just as we would help you against your 
enemies." 



382 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 



CHAPTEK YII. 

THE BATTLE. 

We lay here all day inactive. General Golovatclioff, as it 
appeared, towards evening, was collecting information as 
to wliere tlie mass of tlie Turcomans had taken refuge, 
preparatory to making an attack upon them. After dark 
it began to be whispered about the camp-fires that we 
were to march out before daylight next morning, and 
attack and surprise the enemy in their camp, only six or 
seven miles distant. About ten o'clock the rumour was 
confirmed by an official order, which was passed round. 
The baggage was to be left behind under a guard, and we 
were to march at one in the morning. 

The Turcomans, it was said, Vv^ere on the other side of 
Iliali, some five or six miles distant, and were going to 
make a stand. 

About eleven o'clock, when everybody was going to 
sleep, an alarm was sounded, some shots were fired, and 
we rushed to arms, in the momentary expectation of an 
attack. All became quiet, however, and the picket re- 
ported he had seen a black form creeping up in the 
darkness, and had fired. Nothing further appearing, we 
all lay down again to snatch a hasty nap. Again we 
were aroused a little before one o'clock by a shot and a 



BROKEN REST. 383 

wild terrified cry, that brouglit us to our feet like an 
electric shock. There is another rush to arms, a moment's 
confusion, every man gains his place, and then all is 
silence — we are awaiting the attack. This time it is not a 
false alarm, as the picket had fired upon something very 
near him in the darkness, and then picked up a sabre — 
very good proof that some of the enemy were prowling 
around. 

This decided General Golovatchoff not to march at one, 
as was originally intended, hut to wait until three, just 
before break of day. 

Accordingly, about three we are aroused by the reveille ; 
our baggage is packed, and all placed within a hollow 
square formed by the arbas, of which there are 200, and 
left under a guard of 300 men. This having been accom- 
plished, with no little confusion in the darkness, the 
General, with his staff, mounted and took up his station 
just outside the camp, to wait for the infantry to file out 
under his eyes. 

It should be remembered that we were in the same place 
in which the little affair of two days before occurred; 
and we were about to march out on the open plain to the 
west, in the direction of Iliali, as preferable to following 
in the darkness the more direct road through the gardens. 
The faintest streak of day could be seen in the east, but 
towards the west, in the direction we are marching, the 
darkness is black and impenetrable. There is something 
curious in the air, a kind of strange agitation almost 
electric, which makes one somehow feel that there is 
going to be a storm. A white horse, broken loose, rushed 
madly about here and there through the lines in a wild, 
absurd, crazy way — an incident I remembered afterwards 
with a curious interest. 



384 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

The cavalry has already passed out on the plain, and is 
probably half a mile distant ; the infantry are just forming 
in marching order under the eyes of the General ; two or 
three of us are discussing the probability of taking the 
Turcomans by surprise, when all at once a wild fierce yell, 
a horrid confused sound of frightened shouts, scattering 
shots, and a trampling rush of horses, breaks upon our 
startled ears. Everywhere — before, behind, around — the 
air is filled with the wild revengeful yell, the plain alive 
with the Turcomans. Our expectations of a surprise are 
fulfilled in a somewhat unexpected manner. 

Then there is an irregular discharge of firearms, that 
flashes up like lightning, then a long hissing streak of fire, 
that rends the darkness with a fearful, crashing, nerve- 
shaking sound, and explodes with a murderous report; 
then bouquets of blue, green, and red flame, that leap up 
and disappear ; then more streaks of fire, the whizzing of 
bullets, the trampling of frightened horses, and the occa- 
sional gleam of sabres. 

For a moment we sit spell-bound in our saddles, too 
much amazed to do anything but gaze in dumb astonish- 
ment. 

General Golovatchoff gives a hurried order for the 
infantry and artillery to advance ; and the next moment 
we are dashing through the darkness after him, without 
knowing whither we are going. In an instant we are 
in the midst of the combatants. By this time the 
rockets have ceased, partly because, being damaged, they 
often exploded in the hands of the gunners ; partly because 
the Turcomans are so close, that at the lowest angle at 
which they could be fired, they passed over the enemy's 
heads, and failed to either injure or frighten them. The 
rifle firing was brisker than ever, and a kind of irregular 



ON THE VEEGE OF A PANIC. 385 

discharge was kept up from both sides, by whose light 
strange, fearful glimpses were caught now and then of a 
dark, savage face and glittering sabre, instantly lost again 
in the darkness, while the shouts and yells continue ten 
times more demoniac than before. The Cossacks seem to 
have been thrown into some confusion, and are slowly re- 
tiring. Here and there the Turcomans have penetrated 
the lines, and it becomes a hand-to-hand fight. In the 
confusion I am separated from General Grolovatchoff. 
When I find myself again by his side, he is calmly issu- 
ing orders, but is covered with blood. He has received 
a sabre cut ; Colonel Friede, his chief of staff, is near him, 
likewise bleeding profusely from a bullet-wound in the 
head. The Turcomans have already penetrated or flanked 
the lines in many places, and one of them had wounded 
Greneral Golovatchoff. 

Now there is a confused rush of Cossacks backwards, 
that carries me along. It is, perhaps, not a flight, but 
something that very much resembles one, or the be- 
ginning of one ; and besides, there is something fearful in 
the air, something the like of which I have never ex- 
perienced before nor since, and which I can only compare 
to the ominous threatening atmosphere said to always 
precede an earthquake ; above the uproar, the cries and 
shouts and confusion, a low, ominous, frightened murmur, 
like the commencement of a cry of despair ; we are on the 
verge of a panic. The Cossacks have lost their Colonel ; 
and looking at them closely, I can see their scared, 
anxious faces, and know well what that means ! A rout 
— a massacre ; not one of us will escape the Yomuds, 
with their fleet-footed horses. Looking towards the camp 
we had left, I see a long line of dark figures gallop in 
between, their tall, black forms easily seen against the 



386 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

brightening eastern sky ; we are completely surrounded. 
Away to the right is heard the crash of the mitrailleuse, 
which proves that the fight is widely extended. 

Prince Eugene dashes past, with smoking pistol, ap- 
parently in search of General Golovatchoff. He had, 
as I afterwards learned, been surrounded and almost cut 
off; had shot down two of the foe with his own hand, 
while the officer in attendance on him was almost cut to 
pieces. Not knowing whither the Cossacks may carry 
me in their backward movement, I determine to get out 
from among them. I do so, and then find myself on the 
extreme front, with nothing between me and the enemy. 
They are advancing from the west, where all is in the 
most profound darkness; but I can distinguish, at a 
distance of probably fifty yards, a dark irregular mass of 
horsemen coming forward at a gallop. They are all 
screeching like fiends, and by the flashes of fire, I can catch 
glimpses of their fierce, dark faces, and the gleam of drawn 
sabres. It did not take me long to perceive that I could 
not stay here, and quickly wheeling my horse, I dash 
off, first emptying my revolver at the mass. Almost at 
the same instant a company of infantry arrives on my 
left. 

They come up in marching order at a run, and with a 
movement something resembling that of a lasso, the 
ofiicer has thrown them into line of battle. I quickly 
spur my horse behind them, feeling for the moment ex- 
tremely happy. They stand in line, the left foot fore- 
most, their rifles ready ; in another second the order rings 
out " Fire !" and the air is rent with the crash of a volley 
and the shriek of flying bullets. 

The discharge was followed by another, and another, in 
quick succession. It was time ; the Yomuds were so close, 




PRINCE EUGENE. 



FLYING RETREAT OF THE TURCOMANS. 387 

that many of them fell dead at the very feet of the 
troops. And now away to the right begins to be heard 
the loud, fierce roar of the cannon, which have arrived on 
the scene, and are belching forth grape and canister. 

The coming of daylight has probably been retarded for 
a few moments by the dust and smoke that were hanging 
over us, for now smoke and dust are cleared away by a 
small puff of wind, and, as if by magic, the darkness rises 
and discloses the Turcomans flying over the plain on their 
swift-footed horses, in full retreat. 

I look around me. About a hundred yards away I 
see Greneral Golovatchoff's banner, a number of Cossacks, 
and several officers grouped around ; the rest of the 
Cossacks collected here and there in irregular groups ; 
the infantry stretched around in a broken circle, about 300 
yards in diameter, still in line of battle ; the artillery- 
men, beside their smoking pieces, watching the retreating 
enemy, and hesitating about giving them a parting shot. 
The battle is over. 



388 CAMPAIGNIKG ON THE OXUS. 



CHAPTEE Yin. 

APTER THE BATTLE. 

Near me were two or tliree Kussian soldiers lying dead, 
and tliree or four wounded. A little farther away, 
Colonel Esipoff, whom I shook hands with half an hour 
before as he marched out, lay stark and cold, with a 
bullet through his breast, his Cross of St. Greorge bespat- 
tered with blood. He had died the death of the brave. 

I rode up to where the General's standard was waving, 
anxious to learn whether he was badly wounded. His 
arm was bandaged and his white coat covered with blood, 
but he still kept his saddle. The wound was only a 
sabre cut in the arm, and had been given by a man on 
foot. 

We rode over the field, to count the wounded and the 
dead. The bodies of Turcomans were strewn about in 
great numbers. Here was one lying on his side, both 
hands still clutching a long stick, to which was tied a 
short crooked scythe. He was barefoot, bareheaded, and 
was clad only in light linen shirt and trousers ; the 
dark scowl of hate still clung to his hard, rough features, 
and there was still the stamp of the fierce savage spirit 
that had led him with such unequal weapons to face the 
breech-loaders of the Kussians. 



A COWAEDLY ACT. 389 

Here, three or four lying side by side, as tliongh shot 
down at the same instant, and three, four, or five tumbled 
together about the body of a beautiful horse, as if 
successively killed, along with the noble beast, in trying 
to help each other. Then more horses, more men lying 
about, half hidden among the low weeds in the little 
hollows of sand. In one spot the ground was literally 
covered with them. But there were no wounded; no 
groans, no cries for help. I was astonished at this at 
first, as although the Turcomans always try to carry ofi' 
their wounded, they, of course, could not have carried 
all the Russians must have wounded in the recent en- 
gagement. 

I soon had an explanation of the phenomenon, as 
horrible as it was unexpected. I saw a soldier cautiously 
approach one of the dead Turcomans. His movements 
were so strange, they excited my curiosity, and I drew up 
my horse at the distance of twenty or thirty feet to watch 
him. He was so intent on what he was doing that he 
did not observe me ; and I could see a wild scared light 
in his eye, that reminded me partly of a crazy man, partly 
of a frightened child. Suddenly, before I had in the least 
comprehended what he was going to do, he plunged his 
bayonet deep into the Turcoman's side. I uttered an 
involuntary cry of horror ; he looked up, saw me, and slunk 
away without a word. The Turcoman had only been 
feigning death ; but even now he did not utter a groan, 
nor open his eyes, while the blood gushed from his side 
and mouth in a crimson stream ; and I might even now 
have thought him dead, but for the convulsive clutching 
of his fingers and spasmodic quivering of his limbs. I 
turned away sick at heart, for I knew the poor fellow was 
past all human aid. 



390 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

I am glad to be able to say, however, for the honour of 
the Kussian troops, that, to the best of my knowledge, 
this was the only case of such cold-blooded barbarity that 
occurred. Although I scanned the field closely, I saw no 
more incidents of this kind. This soldier was evidently 
one of the cowards who had been terribly frightened, and 
was only having his revenge. 

But the absence of wounded was explained. They were 
all feigning death, for fear of being killed. We counted 
in all about 300 bodies lying scattered about, or piled up 
in heaps, with a good many horses, but the enemy after- 
wards acknowledged a loss of 500, The Eussians' loss was 
only forty in killed and wounded, which may be accounted 
for by the fact that the Yomuds were only armed with 
sabres and scythes. It was a bold and brilliant attack, and, 
but for the steadiness displayed by the Eussian infantry, 
might have proved very disastrous to us. If a panic had 
once ensued, not one of us would have escaped. And yet 
this was the first afi"air in which these troops had ever 
been engaged. The coolness displayed by G-eneral Golo- 
vatchoff during the action was admirable, and probably had 
very much to do in preventing a panic. 

The General took a hasty survey of the field, gave 
orders for the care of the wounded and burial of the 
dead, and then resumed the march. By this time the sun 
had risen, and threw long shadows over the desert ; an 
oppressive silence reigned around, instead of the din and 
uproar of the conflict, and we marched silently forward, 
talking to each other in low voices. 

The truth is, the attack had been so sudden, so unex- 
pected, so fierce and desperate, that we were for the 
moment awed at the danger we had so narrowly escaped. 

As there was now no particular reason for keeping to 




GENERAL GOLOVATCHOFF. 



CALM AFTER STORM. 391 

the open ground, we turned to the right, and were soon 
in the road leading through the gardens to Iliali. In 
half an hour we espied through the trees its mud battle- 
mented walls, grey and frowning in the shadows of 
morning. The road led around the town. The in- 
habitants had gathered in a large crowd at the gate to 
receive us, with presents of freshly-baked cakes, melons, 
grapes, and peaches. 



392 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 



CHAPTER IX. 

THE PUESUIT. 

The people of Iliali were Uzbegs, witli whom we had no 
quarrel. 

Although they knew we were not making war upon 
them, they were, nevertheless, frightened at the noise 
of the combat ; and they watched us with scared looks 
as we rode by, dust-covered and grimy, and gazed with 
awe upon General Golovatchoff, whose white coat was all 
bespattered with blood, and whose arm was in a sling. 

"We did not enter the town, but followed the road 
leading around the walls, and continued our march to the 
north-west. In an hour we were again in the desert. 
Our road lay along its edge, which was irregular and 
crooked, so that we were continually crossing alternately 
streaks of sand and points of cultivated land. We were 
in search of the Turcoman camp, which we had intended 
to surprise when marching out in the morning, and 
which was supposed to be some five or six miles from 
Iliali. 

The Turcomans had entirely disappeared immediately 
after the fight, and for two or three hours we saw no 
more of them. About nine, however, we began to see 
them scudding along the horizon on our left. In half an 



A EUNNING FIGHT. 393 

liour the plain was covered with them ; the battle was on 
once more, if battle it could be called. They showed 
themselves in considerable masses to the right and left, as 
well as before us, so that we were obliged to be prepared 
for an attack at any point. "We had thrown out skir- 
mishers and sharpshooters, under cover of the banks of 
the canals, which in many places afibrded excellent pro- 
tection. The enemy showed considerable daring, in spite 
of their defeat of the morning, often coming within easy 
range of our rifles, and sweeping by at a dashing gallop. 

We were aproaching their camp, and their object was to 
retard our march as much as possible, in order to give the 
non-combatants time to escape. 

Our progress under these circumstances was very slow. 
Advancing in marching order, with a line of sharpshooters 
thrown out on our left, while our right was protected by 
the cavalry, we were obliged to halt every few minutes to 
rearrange our broken ranks or change our front. Although 
having a wholesome dread of the infantry, the Yomuds 
were by no means so afraid of the cavalry, whose inability 
to cope with them they had discovered in the morning. 
Several times they dashed down upon the Cossacks in the 
most determined manner, and were only brought to a 
halt by a volley from the infantry, or a shell shrieking 
through their ranks. 

This kind of running fight continued for two or three 
hours, the Yomuds careering around us in all direc- 
tions, shouting, yelling, and firing their matchlocks. They 
did not appear to have any definite plan of action or 
attack, further than riding down upon us^in irregular 
masses, without order or system. 

Once half a dozen of them had gathered behind a 
ruined house, about 300 yards from the road, and as 



394 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

we passed they dashed out one at a time, and galloped off 
unharmed, under a rattling fire from the skirmish line. 

General Golovatchoff seeing some masses of them away 
in the desert to the left, ahout a mile and a half, sent 
them a dozen shells, as a signal to the Orenburg detach- 
ment. This detachment was supposed to be approaching 
from the other side, at the distance of eight or ten miles, 
for the purpose of completely hemming the fugitives in. 
These shells, fired without any particularly wicked intent, 
did the Yomuds a good deal of harm, as we afterwards 
learned. They had fallen into the camp we were in 
search of, which, hidden in a little hollow, had escaped 
our observation, and so caused the enemy to fly in such 
haste as to abandon everything. 

This we learned from the Orenburg troops, who came 
upon the deserted camp the next day, and found several 
hundred arbas or carts of the country, which had been 
abandoned, together with some dead bodies, and a great 
quantity of baggage. The poor people had been so 
frightened by the bursting of the shells, that they had 
mounted their horses, and left everything, not even 
taking time to carry off their dead. 

Among the curious things found was a quantity of 
papers of Lieut. Shakespeare, who went to Khiva on a 
mission from the English, during Perovsky's unfortunate 
expedition' in 1840. Lieut. Shakespeare, it will be remem- 
bered, went to Khiva to bring about a peaceable settle- 
ment of the difficulties between the Khivans and the 
Kussians. 

One of these papers was a copy of a letter from Lord 
Palmerston, in which the British ambassador was instructed 
to inform the Russian Government that the annexation of 
Khiva might be regarded by England as a casus ])elU. 



THE KHAN'S WAE WITH THE TUECOMANS. 395 

Our detachment did not discover the camp in which 
these papers were found at all. The guides had all 
disappeared in the affair of the morning. Nobody knew 
exactly where the camp was situated, and we marched 
by without seeing it, leaving it about two miles to our 
left. 

At noon we reached the canal of Ana Murat, which 
poured a strong current of water into the desert ; and 
crossing it, halted. Here we found ourselves on the site 
of an old fortified camp, made by the Khan during wars 
with these same Turcomans. It was about ten acres in 
extent, and the mud walls were in many places ten feet 
high, and nearly intact. The Khan gave Kaufmann a 
history of this war, which was curious. 

Exasperated beyond endurance by the refusal of the 
Turcomans to pay taxes or recognise his authority, he 
determined to make war, and subjugate them. He as- 
sembled an army of Uzbegs, between whom and the 
Turcomans there exists, as I have before remarked, the 
most bitter animosity. The Khan marched his army into 
the country of the Turcomans ; and arriving at this place, 
which offered a strong position in the deep canals that 
protected it on two sides, fortified himself. 

Here he remained several weeks, during which time the 
Turcomans made real or feigned attacks upon his camp 
every day ; which — judging by what we saw of them — they 
must have enjoyed immensely. 

As the Khan never marched out to fight them, they 
had it all their own way. He threw solid shot at them 
with his cannon, but as it takes several tons of iron to 
kill a single man in that way, he did not do them much 
harm, while they careered around the camp on their 
Horses, shouting, yelling, firing their matchlocks, flourish- 



396 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

ing their sabres, and enjoying the fun immensely. This 
continued for several weeks, at the end of which time 
the Khan, having exhausted his munitions and men, 
marched hack to his capital in triumph. The Turcomans 
returned to their homes, and resumed their ordinary 
occupations. 

This was the camp in which we now found ourselves ; 
and the position being a good one, Greneral Golovatchoff 
decided to remain here the rest of the day. 

The Yomuds for their part made good use of the 
time thus allowed them, and continued their flight. As 
we had already passed them, they doubled on their track 
like hunted hares, and returned over nearly the same 
road we had come, taking their way to the south-east. All 
day and night they continued their hasty and terrified 
retreat, and thus gained several miles start of us. 

The next morning at daylight we were on their trail. 
We had not gone far when we found the body of a Russian 
soldier, stripped naked, and decapitated ; a picket whom 
they had probably surprised during the night. All that 
day we followed the trail of the fugitives, only stopping 
once to allow the troops time to breakfast. As we were 
encumbered with little baggage, our march was very 
rapid. We again passed near Iliali, leaving it to our 
left, and after crossing a small oasis, found ourselves on a 
wide open plain, which, judging by the numerous canals 
by which it was cut up, must have been at no far distant 
period in a state of cultivation. We saw no signs of 
the fugitives until nearly sunset, when a cloud of dust on 
the horizon showed we were fast overtaking them. 

We camped soon afterwards on the banks of a canal, 
which afforded a plentiful supply of water ; in a few 
minutes the Cossacks had scattered over the plain in 



A DEPLOEABLE ACCIDENT. 897 

search of forage for their horses. They found some hay, 
which had just been cut and saved by the Yomuds, a 
mile distant from the camp. But this confused dispers- 
ing of the Cossacks over the plain resulted in a deplorable 
accident. One of the native guides, who had ridden off 
some distance in advance of the others, was mistaken for a 
Yomud, fired upon by one of the Cossacks, and so dan- 
gerously wounded that he died in a couple of hours, in 
spite of the efforts of the army surgeon. 



398 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 



CHAPTEE X. 

THE FLIGHT. 

Eaely next morning we were again on the trail, and 
soon began to perceive signs of the fugitives. Here an 
arba loaded with baggage, which had been hurriedly 
abandoned; there a cow or a calf that had not been 
able to follow ; now an old woman hid in a hut, and 
almost paralysed with fear, supposing she would be imme- 
diately led out to execution ; then an old man, ragged, 
and dust-covered, and miserable, who, leaning on a staff, 
watched us march past with haggard eyes. Later we 
began to come upon little flocks of lambs and kids, then 
flocks of sheep and cattle, and more arbas. 

G-olovatchoff now ordered the cavalry ahead to overtake 
and attack the fugitives, and if possible, force them to 
give battle. Judging, from what I had seen the first day, 
that this attack must necessarily be on the laggards and 
stragglers, I determined to stay behind with the staff. 

The cavalry soon disappeared in a cloud of dust ; the 
infantry continued to move steadily forward. In half an 
hour we came to a deep narrow canal, full of water, which 
traversed the plain at right angles with our line of march, 
and here a strange and fearful scene met our gaze. 



PAINFUL SCENES. 399 

Scattered Over the plain in every direction were hundreds 
of arbas, or carts, loaded with the household goods of the 
Yomuds. Unable to cross the canal on the one narrow 
bridge, they had cut their horses loose and fled, aban- 
doning everything. Some, however, had failed to make 
their escape ; either because they had no horses, or 
possibly because they trusted too much to the clemency 
of the Russians. These had been overtaken and cut down 
by the Cossacks. 

Everywhere, lying among the thickly standing arbas, 
were the bodies, with sabre-cuts on head and face, bloody 
and ghastly. But worse still to see were the women 
cowering under the carts, like poor dumb animals, watch- 
ing us with fear-stricken faces and beseeching eyes, but 
never uttering a word, with the dead bodies of their 
husbands, lovers, and brothers lying around them. Th-ey 
expected to be treated as they knew their own husbands, 
brothers, and lovers would have treated the vanquished 
under like circumstances. 

I observed one, however, who gave no attention to 
what was passing around her. She was holding in her lap 
the head of a man who was dying from a terrible sabre-cut 
in the head. She sat gazing on his face as motionless as 
a statue, not even raising her eyes at our approach ; and 
we might have taken her attitude for one of stolid in- 
difference, but for the tears that stole silently down from 
her long dark lashes, and dropped on the face of the dying 
man. There, at least, was no dread of the Russians. 
Grrief had banished fear. 

But worst of all to see was a number of little mites of 
children, whose parents had probably been killed. Some 
were crawling about among the wheels, crying ; others, still 
sitting in the carts among the baggage, watched us with 



400 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

curious, childish ^yes ; one little girl crowed and laughed 
at the sight of General Golovatchoff's banner. 

I took one of the crying infants to a woman with wild 
eyes, who was sitting under a cart ; but she paid no heed 
to it, for, in passing afterwards, I saw the little thing 
lying on the ground near her, screaming its lungs away. 

The General and staff stopping here a few minutes, I 
rode slowly forward alone. Everywhere were the 
abandoned arbas, piled full of carpets, cushions, cooking 
utensils, threshed wheat, spun silk, and clothing; and 
now and again the body of a sabred Yomud. Here an 
old woman, eighty I should say, was sitting prone in 
the middle of the road, with an infant in her arms, 
over which she was bending in an attitude of resignation 
and despair. With closed eyes she waited, as though 
resolved not to look on the sabre she expected would cut 
off both their lives together. She would not abandon her 
little grandchild, though perhaps the mother had. Farther 
on was a young and pretty woman under an arba, with 
bleeding face, and torn robe, and a woe-stricken counten- 
ance that told its own story. Acting upon an unreason- 
ing impulse, I offered her money ; but she flung it back, 
and bowed her head in her hands with a sob. 

I must say, however, that cases of violence towards 
women were very rare ; and although the Russians here 
were fighting barbarians who commit all sorts of atrocities 
upon their prisoners, which fact might have excused a 
good deal of cruelty on the part of the soldiers, their 
conduct was infinitely better than that of European 
troops in Europ.^m campaigns. 

ii little farther on was an old woman lying near the 
road, woiinded with a bad sabre-cut in the neck ; but she 
might easily have been taken for a man, as she wore no 



A DEFIANT TOMUD. 401 

turban. The orders were to give the men no quarter, 
whether they resisted or not. This was the only woman 
I saw wounded, though I was told there were three or 
four other cases. 

I had now advanced some two miles on the plain, which 
was still covered with the abandoned carts. They were 
scattered about in groups of five or six ; some in the 
road, some a quarter or a half a mile to the right and left, 
as though their owners had hoped to escape into the 
desert, when the approach of the Cossacks forced them 
to abandon the attempt. 

Fifteen or twenty Yomuds on horseback now showed 
themselves a short distance away in the desert, and as 
the infantry was some two miles behind, and the cavalry 
probably three or four in advance, I thought it prudent 
to halt. While waiting here, a Yomud, who had pro- 
bably been hiding somewhere in the vicinity, suddenly 
appeared coming towards me. He was only armed with 
a stick, but his manner was so defiant, that I seized my 
revolver. Even then he did not show the slightest sign 
of fear, but crossed the road before me, at a distance of 
not more than ten feet, scowling at me with his fierce 
black eyes, as though half tempted to attack me with his 
club, in spite of my two revolvers and my breech-loading 
rifle. 

My first impulse was to make him throw down his 
stick and tender his submission to me, as one of his 
conquerors, but the fellow had such an audacious, inde- 
pendent bearing, that he excited my admiration ; I thought, 
besides, it would not be a brave thing to do, with such 
odds in my favour. He walked off' without so much as 
bidding me good-day, and disappeared among the low 
hillocks of sand. 



402 CAMPAIGNING- ON THE OXUS. 

The infantry soon came up, and the march was continued 
some four or five miles farther. More sheep, more cattle, 
more camels, young and old, but no horses. It is not a 
little remarkable, that although many thousand head of 
sheep and cattle were captured during the course of the 
campaign, not a single horse was caught ; and it shows 
how wise the Yomuds were in prizing so highly their 
splendid beasts. Probahly only those who had no horses 
were caught and killed in this day's chase. 

Seeing two or three Cossacks pillaging a group of carts 
a short distance from our line of march, I rode out to 
inspect the operation. The bodies of two Yomuds were 
lying on the ground; and a little girl, three years old, 
standing beside the dead bodies, watched the pillaging 
operation in a bewildered way, peculiar to children, and 
wept quietly, but bitterly. 

As the little thing, if left here, would have died of 
thirst, I took her upon my horse, with the intention of 
leaving her with the next woman I should find. Soon after 
perceiving another, I handed the first over to the care 
of my comrade, Chertkofi", and went after the • second. 
The poor child had a great gash cut in her foot, as though 
she had stepped on a sabre ; and the wound, full of sand 
and exposed to the hot sun, must have been painful. She 
was not shedding a tear, but stood watching the Cossacks 
pillaging an arba, probably her own father's, with bright, 
curious, but defiant eyes. When I ofi'ered to take her on 
my horse, she ran away, and I was obliged to dismount 
in order to capture her. 

Then she struggled and scratched, and bit like a little 
wild cat ; and not till I had exhausted all my vocabulary 
of Tartar on her did she at last consent to go with me. 
But when I succeeded in persuading her of my peaceful 



THE TWO PRIZES. 403 

intentions, she put her arms around my neck and went 
to sleep. The poor little thing was completely covered 
with dust and dirt, and looked as though she had been 
dragged through a mud puddle. She had probably not 
been washed since the flight had commenced more than a 
week ago, and the fugitives *had been travelling in clouds 
of dust during the whole time. 

r cut a rather ridiculous figure riding along the lines 
with the little barbarian's arms tightly clasped around 
my neck, and her little queer-shaped head, covered an 
inch thick with dust, lying on my breast. I soon found 
I was in good company, though, for I met an officer 
of the staff with a like acquisition — also a little girl. 
The Yomuds seemed to have abandoned their girls with 
less reluctance than their boys. 

About eleven o'clock we overtook the cavalry, which had 
halted to rest their horses, and we camped for the morning. 

The fugitives had scattered in every direction, but the 
great mass of them, mounted on their fleet horses, was 
some miles further on, and it would be useless to attempt 
overtaking them. General Golovatchoff therefore decided 
that as the greater part of their baggage, as well as live 
stock, had been captured, they had been sufficiently 
punished, and determined to march back to Iliali. 

Even here, so far from the oasis, there were two or 
three large canals, one of which was full of water, show- 
ing that the plain, barren though it be at present, was 
formerly under cultivation, and might be easily reclaimed. 
From what I have observed, the limits of the oasis of 
Khiva must have formerly been much greater, for every- 
where over these plains, from a point near the city itself, 
which is almost on the frontier between sand and desert, 
are signs of former irrigation. 



404 CAMPAIGNING- ON THE OXUS. 

Before arriving in camp I saw five or six women, to 
whom I offered my little protegee, but they refused to 
accept it, pointing to their own children. They did not 
certainly appear to be in a condition to take charge of 
another child, as they each had four or five already ; so I 
carried mine into camp, not knowing exactly what to do 
with her. The most practical plan seemed to be to throw 
her away and have done, but I might as well have left 
her in the desert at once, to feed the jackals. While 
debating the matter, I made a bed for her under a cart, 
with a pile of cotton, of which masses were lying about 
along with rugs, carpets, and cooking utensils, the remains 
of the pillaged carts. Then, with the aid of the doctor, I 
washed and dressed her wounded foot. 

She was a brave little thing, and won our admiration by 
the way in which she stood the dressing of the wound. 
Although it was terribly swelled and inflamed, and full 
of sand, and must have hurt her dreadfully when we were 
cleaning it, she never shed a tear. After a good deal of 
scrubbing, I got her face clean enough to see what she 
looked like, and found her rather pretty. She drank 
water greedily, probably being the first she had tasted 
that day. Seeing a soldier milking a captured cow, I 
bought as much fresh milk as she could drink, after 
which she went to sleep on her bed of cotton. In short, 
1 got so interested in the little outcast, and she was such 
a brave little thing, that it was with reluctance I gave 
her up to the mother, whom I after\rards found. The 
mother, although overjoyed to find her child, did not 
seem particularly grateful to me, and never looked at me 
once afterwards. This was rather hard, I thought, 
considering I had returned the child with a well- 
appointed wardrobe I had pillaged for the occasion, 



WEECKS OF HAPPY HOMES. 405 

besides a piece of gold, which will probably go to make up 
her marriage portion, ten years hence. Perhaps she thanked 
the Kafir in her heart of hearts, though, all the same. 

After a halt of three hours, during whicL time we 
pillaged and set fire to all the carts that were captured 
here, we took up our march back to Iliali. 

Some fifty or sixty women were captured here, but 
they were allowed to remain behind, and were probably 
soon rejoined by their friends. 

The soldiers were ordered to take everything of value 
and burn the rest ; and the Cossacks executed the order 
with a right good will. Carpets, silk stuffs, and articles 
of clothing, with occasional silver ornaments, were the 
principal objects of value ; and the road was soon strewn 
with unspun cotton, raw silk, old carpets, which the sol- 
diers had not thought worth taking, together with grain, 
flour, cooking utensils, skins of milk, and all sorts of 
household goods. 

It was sad to see the poor, simple articles of household 
use, wrecks of so many simple happy homes, trampled in 
the dust. For with these simple people every article of 
the household is an old and well-known friend, to which 
they have become attached by long use, and with which 
are associated many remembrances and souvenirs; over 
which has been told many a mystic charm. It is sad to 
think of the women coming back over this road, trying 
to save something from the general ruin, and weeping, 
perhaps, over some familiar prized article, that would 
remind them of a happy home now in ashes. 

But there were other things sadder still to excite one's 
sympathy and compassion. 

In one place were the bodies of three Yomuds, lying 
in their blood, and near them six children, of the 



406 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

ages of four to eight, all alone with their dead. The 
eldest, a sturdy little fellow, was taking care of the 
others, as well as he could. He was engaged in making 
up a hed for them, under a cart, with bits of cotton, silk, 
worn-out rugs, and old carpets — all that was left of their 
once well-furnished kibitka. He did not pay the slight- 
est attention to me when I rode up, hut continued his 
task, without even looking up ; and, I have no doubt, 
his little baby heart swelled with rage and indignation 
at the sight of me. Twenty years hence, some of the 
" Kafirs " will probably feel how well the child had 
learned to hate them. 

I took care that the soldiers should not burn the cart 
under which the children had taken refuge, found them 
a skin of milk, and rode off after the rear-guard, leaving 
them alone with their dead in the wide, wide, desert. 
Well has Yictor Hugo said : " Ceux qui n'ont vu que la 
misere des hommes n'ont rien vu ; il faut voir la misere 
des femmes. Ceux qui n'ont vu que la misere des femmes 
n'ont rien vu ; il faut voir la misere des enfants." 

I only saw one child that had been killed. It was a 
very young infant, and looked as though it had received a 
simple blow from a horse's hoof or some other object, as 
there was no sign of blood on it. 

Our march all the way back was marked by fire and 
flame. Arrived at the canal before spoken of, where 
were the first mass of arba,', I found they had been com- 
pletely pillaged, and that nearly all the women and 
children had disappeared. A few still remained, however ; 
and it was curious to see a Cossack stop from his work 
of plunder to give a child a piece of bread, or a drink of 
water from his flask, in the gentlest manner possible, and 
then resume his occnjoation. 



A LITTLE ORPHAN. 407 

I found the little girl that had crowed so gleefully in 
the morning at the sight of G-eneral Golovatchoff's banner 
still sitting in the same cart. It was now near night- 
fall, and the poor little thing had been there all day in 
the hot sun, with nothing to drink, waiting patiently till 
she should be taken away. 1 found a skin of milk among 
the thousand other things that lay scattered about, and 
gave her to drink, not without difficulty, as I could not 
find a single drinking cup. 

There were some five or six hundred arbas here, so 
closely packed together, that one or two having been fired, 
the flames spread rapidly, and were now approaching the 
one in which sat the little girl. I took her away far enough 
to be out of danger, and put her down on a piece of carpet, 
wondering what I should do with her. Although there 
were three or four women still here, the fact of their 
having left her all day alone was sufficient evidence that 
they could not be depended upon to take charge of her. 
It was now near dark, and the Yomuds could hardly 
be expected back before the next day; in the mean- 
time the jackals were plentiful, and could already be 
heard howling in the distance. 

I had about decided to take her into camp, when I 
observed a woman approach, whom I had not yet seen, 
leading two children. I showed her the child and asked, 
"Yours?" " Yoh" "no," she replied; and pointing to 
a Yomud stretched out on the ground, added, " his." 
" Any mother ?" I ask. " Yoh," " no." Then I told her 
by signs I would take it with me to camp. She did 
not seem to relish the idea, so I asked her if she would 
take charge of it herself. This she did readily. I gave 
her a piece of gold, and told her to not stay here. She 
took the little girl in her arms, and walked off along the 



408 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

canal, across the wide open plain, with the two others 
trudging wearily after her, wandering, God knows 
whither. 

The rear-guard did not reach camp until long after 
dark, owing to the great numbers of sheep, cattle, and 
camels we had captured, and which made our progress 
necessarily slow. Their bawling and bleating, filling the 
whole plain, was mournful enough in the darkness ; 
while low down on the southern sky could be seen the 
glare of the burning arbas, telling a sad tale of blight 
and ruin. 



RUIN. 409 



CHAPTEK XI. 

THE WAR INDEMNITY. 

General Katjfmann, with a considerable force, met our 
detachment at Iliali. Communication with General Golov- 
atchojff had been cut off for several days, and this, coupled 
with a flying rumour of a great battle which had reached 
Khiva, had alarmed the Commander-in-chief. Hastily 
assembling, with the Khan's assistance, as many arbas for 
transport as he could in half a day, he immediately set 
off to our relief. On the way he received General Golov- 
atchoff's despatch containing the account of the affair of 
the 27th of July, which of course relieved his fears. 

The power of the Yomud Turcomans was broken ; their 
ruin complete. The greater part of their live stock had 
been captured. All of their wheat, grain, and forage, 
upon which they depended for subsistence during the 
winter, had been burned, and their dwellings laid in 
ashes. 

It would aeem that their proud spirits were still un- 
broken, for they refused to submit and return to their 
ravaged homes, as they were invited to do by Kaufmann. 
They wandered about the desert, hanging on the frontier 
of the oasis, living as best they could for some weeks, 
until Kaufmann had crossed the Oxus and was on his way 



410 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OX US 

back to Tashkent. Then, from what I have learned since 
my arrival in Europe, they fell upon their Uzbeg neigh- 
bours and pillaged them, until they had partly made up for 
the losses inflicted by the Eussians. 

Now, however, their position must have been deplorable. 
Kaufmann told me he had learned they had sent an 
embassy to the Tekke-Turcomans on the Caspian and 
Attrek, asking permission to emigrate to their territory ; 
to which request the latter replied, in a very brotherly 
manner, that they might come, but that they would 
have to give up all their property which had escaped the 
Eussians. However true this may be, few of them, I 
believe, went to the country of the Tekkes. 

Kaufmann camped at Iliali, and issued a proclamation 
to the other Turcomans, informing them he had assessed 
a war indemnity upon them, which he expected them to 
pay within a week, and threatening them with the same 
punishment he had inflicted upon the Yomuds, in case 
they failed to comply within the specified time. 

To this proclamation they responded by a delegation of 
their head men, who promised to pay, but asked for time. 
It would be, they said, impossible to collect the money on 
so short a notice. Kaufmann therefore granted them 
fourteen days. 

The assessment of this war indemnity was at the rate 
of fifteen tillas, about £4 Is. of English money, to the 
kibitka, for all the tribes except the Kara-djigeldis, who 
were assessed at the rate of twenty tillahs, or £5 7s. 
The whole amount thus levied was about £42,500. 
Considering the comparative wealth of the two peoples, 
this was a considerably higher war indemnity than that 
levied on France by the Germans. In a day or two, the 
Turcomans, true to their word, sent in a small instalment 



TUECOMAN HORSES. 411 

of a few thousand rubles, consisting of the small silver 
coin of the country, and some pounds of silver in the 
shape of bracelets, and other female ornaments. 

The camp for the next few days presented a curious 
spectacle. There was probably not enough coin in the 
country to pay this— to the Turcomans — enormous sum, 
so they brought in horses, and carpets, and camels to eke 
out the amount. These they sold, at good round prices, 
to the officers. Many of the Eussians were anxious to 
possess a genuine Turcoman horse, whose superiority 
had been so well demonstrated by the fact that, during 
the whole campaign, not a single one was captured. 

From what I saw of them, however, I should say 
that these Turcomans either did not bring in their best 
animals, or that their horses are greatly inferior to 
those of the Yomuds. Few of them, as far as I could 
judge, possessed any of the points indicating either speed 
or bottom. Narrow chests, with the fore-legs planted 
against each other like those of a rabbit, large head and 
ears, almost entire absence of mane, and a very thin 
tail, together with a great height, being their principal 
characteristics. Lieutenant Stumm, judging by the spe- 
cimens that had been captured during the march upon 
Khiva, was disposed to infer that the race of Turcoman 
horses had deteriorated, and were now no better than any 
other, and perhaps inferior to those of the Kirghiz. I am 
inclined to think, however, that he had not seen any real 
Turcoman horses ; the truth being that their owners 
prize them more highly than they do their daughters, 
and part with them less readily. 

Although during the campaign against the Yomuds, 
our cavalry had charged them several times, they had 
never been able to approach nearer than a hundred yards ; 



4:12 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

and so conscious did the Yomuds seem of the superiority 
of their beasts, that they did not even appear to hurry, 
but galloped off in an easy canter, as though disdaining- 
to urge their horses for us ; and this while we were 
applying the whip and spur, and straining every nerve 
to overtake them. And yet the Cossacks have excellent 
beasts. 

The Turcoman horses, however, whatever their merits, 
brought very good prices, the Eussian officers paying 
from £20 to £50 for one. 

The Turcoman carpets, too, were very much in demand^ 
and sold readily, in spite of the high prices demanded foi 
them and of the fact that hundreds had been " looted " in 
the campaign against the Yomuds. A carpet, four yards 
long by two wide, brought £4 to £5. A curious feature of 
the sale was, that although the Turcomans must have been 
hard pressed for money to pay the indemnity, they could 
not be induced to lower their prices a single kopeck. 
They simply named their price, and you might take the 
article or leave it, as you pleased. The carpets are made 
by the women, and will compare favourably with the best 
carpets made anywhere. Each family has a different 
pattern, which is handed down from generation to gene- 
ration as an heirloom, without undergoing the slightest 
change. The colours are principally red and white, in- 
terspersed with small patches of green and brown, and 
are really very pretty, as well as durable. 

The principal part of the war indemnity was paid, 
strange as it may seem, by the women. Every Turco- 
man woman possesses a great number of ornaments, such 
as bracelets, necklaces, buttons, and head-dresses, in solid 
silver. In fact, the principal wealth of the Turcomans, 
apart from horses, seems to consist in these silver orna- 




TURCOMAN WOMAN. 



THE TUECOMAN WOMEN. 4lS 

ments. They brought in hundreds of them, which 
Kaufmann accepted at the rate of twenty-five rubies to 
the pound of silver. The ornaments were all of the 
purest silver, of very rude workmanship, and usually very 
massive ; a pair of bracelets often weighing more than 
a pound. These bracelets were always very wide and 
thick ; in shape like a letter C, sometimes traced with 
gold, and always set with cornelians. 

It was sad to think with what pain these simple objects 
must have been surrendered by the women to satisfy the 
insatiable maw of the " Urus." These ornaments had 
often been in the family many generations. Their 
mothers, and grandmothers, and great-grandmothers, had 
worn them on their bridal days, and they looked forward 
to seeing their daughters and their granddaughters wear 
them in their turn ; and now the hated Kafir had come 
and demanded them all. One can imagine them shed- 
ding bitter tears over the poor simple articles, with 
which they were wont to deck themselves so bravely on 
great days, as they spread them out on the floor of their 
tents, and counted them over, and admired them for the 
last time. 

A commission of ofiicers was appointed to weigh and 
estimate the silver ; and for ten days they were busily 
engaged in this occupation from morning till night. 
Nevertheless, at the expiration of the time fixed by Kauf- 
mann for the payment of the indemnity, they had only 
received some £20,000 — less than half the sum demanded. 
As the Turcomans had given sufficient evidence of their 
intention to pay, however, and as the impossibility of 
collecting so large a sum in so short a time was only too 
apparent, Kaufmann decided to give them another year 
to pay the remaining £22,500. It was very evident that 
the Turcomans, with the greatest good-will, would not 



414 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

be able to collect the whole sum under several weeks; 
and it was necessary that the army should cross the 
Oxus, and be ready to start back to Tashkent by the 
1st of September, in order to get across the desert 
before the intense cold should have set in. 

The difficulties the Turcomans had to surmount in 
collecting a large sum of money were really very great. 
Besides the scarcity of the money itself, was the difficulty 
of apportioning the amount to be paid by each kibitka. 
As before remarked, the State does not exist among the 
Turcomans. There is no supreme authority to fix rates 
or apportion taxes, nor any recognised power to enforce 
their payment. They have no assessment or estimate of 
taxable property, nor anybody who knows how to make 
such an estimate, because they have never had any taxes 
to pay. The difficulty, therefore, of organising an internal 
revenue department, as it were, must have been very great. 
Kaufmann tried to give their head men all the instruction 
possible under the circumstances, in order to assist them. 
He told them how to distribute the amount assessed on 
each kibitka, according to the number of cattle, sheep, 
horses, and camels possessed by each man ; but it was 
hard to get them to understand. They said that those 
who often had the most live stock were those who had the 
least ready money, and were, therefore, the least able to 
pay ; while those who had money, hid it, and refused to 
pay it out for the general good. Kaufmann tried to 
explain to them that those who had money should lend 
to those who had none ; and endeavoured to show them 
how the head men should borrow money from those who 
had it, in the name of the people at large, who might next 
year pay it back to them in sheep and cattle. In short, 
he did his best to give them some idea of how they should 
organise themselves into a State, as well as raise a national 



BACK TO KHIVA. 415 

debt. But it was too complicated for them ; and Kaufmann 
had to leave them to their own devices. 

All this time we encamped in a large garden, sur- 
rounded by a high wall, adjoining the town of Iliali. It 
is a small place of perhaps 2000 inhabitants ; completely 
enclosed by a heavy mud wall, which forms a rectangle 
about 300 yards long by 200 wide. It has a bazaar, but 
no mosque ; and is half in ruins, the result of some in- 
ternecine conflict; and, although the country around is 
fertile and rich, presents but a wretched and desolate 
appearance. 

To those of us who were not occupied in counting and 
weighing Turcoman silver the twelve days we spent here 
were passed wearily enough. The dull tedium of the 
camp was unbearable after the excitement of the short but 
interesting campaign. Eating, drinking, and giving each 
other dinners and entertainments was all we had to do ; 
and we threw a spirit and ardour into these occupations 
which even astonished ourselves. 

We actually came to look upon Khiva as the great 
metropolis for business, news, and pleasure, and to regard 
it as one does London, Paris, or St. Petersburg after a 
long sojourn in some little rustic village far away from 
any railroad. As to seeing London, Paris, or St. Peters- 
burg themselves, a visit to them was so dimly distant in 
the unknown future, that we thought of it as something 
that might take place years hence. Khiva was the object 
of all our interest, and we longed for a sight of its bazaar, 
as some of us often had yearned before for the boulevards 
of Paris. 

It was, therefore, with light hearts that we sprang 
into our saddles again, and turned our horses' heads 
towards Khiva. An easy march of five days brought us 
to the capital. 



416 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 



CHAPTEK XII. 

THE TEEATY. 

Soon after the fall of Khiva, Kaufmann drew up the 
draft of a treaty to he made with the Khan. This 
draft he sent to St. Petersburg, with a courier, for the 
Emperor's sanction. It was duly approved by the 
Emperor, and returned in time to be signed before the 
army left Khiva. A copy of it in the Uzbeg dialect was 
given the Khan two or three days in advance, so that he 
might have time to get a knowledge of its contents before 
signing. 

On the 23rd of August, the treaty was signed by 
Kaufmann and the Khan, in the presence of all the 
officers of the staff. I give it in full : 

1. Said Muhamed Eahim Bogadur Khan, declares 
himself the humble servant of the Emperor of All the 
Eussias. He surrenders the right of keeping up direct 
relations with neighbouring Khans and rulers, of con- 
cluding commercial or other treaties with them, or of 
declaring war without the permission of the supreme 
Kussian executive authority in Central Asia. 

2. The frontier between the Eussian and Khivan 
terrirories shall commence at Kukertli, and follow the 
western channel of the Amu-Darya to the Aral Sea. 



BOUND HAND AND FOOT. 417 

From there the frontier will follow the shores of the sea 
to Cape Urga, thence it will follow the foot of the Chink 
on the south of the Ust-Urt, and what is usually called 
the old bed of the Amu-Darya, to the Caspian Sea. 

3. The right bank of the Amu, with all the neigh- 
bouring territories which formerly belonged to Khiva, pass 
from the possession of the Khan to Eussia, with all the 
peoples who inhabit them, including the nomads. Lands 
within the ceded territory, which the Khan has given 
to dignitaries of the Khanate, shall nevertheless belong to 
Russia, and no claims on the part of ancient proprietors 
will be admitted. The Khan may indemnify them by 
giving them other lands on the left bank of the river. 

4. In case the Emperor should wish to transfer a part 
of the right bank to the Emir of Bokhara, the Khan will 
recognise the Emir as the legal sovereign of this part of 
his ancient domains, and renounces all intention of re- 
establishing his authority over them. 

5. The navigation of the Amu is accorded exclusively 
to Eussian vessels. Khivan and Bokhariot vessels cannot 
navigate the river without the special permission of the 
supreme Eussian authority in Central Asia. 

6. The Eussians have the right to establish ports on 
the left bank of the Amu, at all points which may appear 
to them necessary. The government of Khiva is re- 
sponsible for the safety of these ports. The choice of 
places for the establishment of ports lies with the Eussian 
supreme authority in Central Asia. 

7. Besides these ports, the Eussians have the right to 
build warehouses on the left bank of the Amu, for the 
purpose of storing their merchandise. The government 
of Khiva agrees to give unoccupied lands, which may be 
necessary for the purpose of constructing their warehouses 



418 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

and magazines, the dwellings of the employes, and ac- 
companying farms at the points which may be indicated 
by the Eussian supreme power in Central Asia. These 
warehouses, with the merchandise they contain, and all 
the people who inhabit them, shall be under the protection 
of the government of Khiva, which is responsible for their 
safety. 

8. All the towns and villages of Khiva are open from 
this time forward to Eussian commerce. Eussian mer- 
chants, with their caravans, may pass through the country 
in all directions. The functionaries of the Khan' govern^ 
ment are obliged to protect them, and the government of 
Khiva is responsible for their safety. 

9. Eussian merchants are freed from paying the ziahet, as 
well as all other taxes, and are placed on the same footing 
as Khivan merchants in Eussia, who neither at Kazala, 
Orenburg, nor any of the ports on the Caspian, pay taxes 
of any kind, 

10. Eussian merchants have the right to transport 
their goods to countries adjoining Khiva, without paying 
any duties in traversing the Khanate. 

11. Eussian merchants have the right, if they should 
wish it, to have at Khiva, and in all the other towns of 
the Khanate, their own agents (haravan hasMs), to keep 
up relations with the functionaries of the Khanate, and to 
manage their commercial affairs. 

12. Eussian subjects have the right to acquire landed 
property in Khiva, and the taxes assessed on such property 
shall be subject to the approval of the Eussian supreme 
power in Central Asia. 

13. Contracts made between Eussians and Khivans 
shall be faithfully executed by both parties. 

14. Complaints of Eussians against Khivans shall 



COST OF THE WAK. 419 

be immediately examined and adjusted by the Khan's 
government. Where debts are due to Khivans and Eus- 
sians, the Kussian claims shall have the priority. 

15. Complaints of Khivans against Kussians, even when 
the latter inhabit Khiva, shall be forwarded to the nearest 
Russian commandant, who alone has the right to pro- 
nounce judgment. 

16. The government of the Khan shall not receive any 
emigrant from Eussia who arrives without a passport 
giving permission of the Eussian authority to come to 
Khiva. If a criminal Eussian subject come to Khiva to 
escape the pursuit of justice, the government of the 
Khan is obliged to seize him, and send him to the 
nearest Eussian commandant. 

17. The emancipation of the slaves, as well as the 
pr(jhibition against slavery in all future time, remains in 
full force ; and the Khan's government binds itself to the 
strict accomplishment of this edict. 

18. A war indemnity of 2,200,000 rubles is levied 
upon Khiva, to pay the expenses of the campaign, which 
was solely caused by the government and people of Khiva. 
As it would be impossible for the government of Khiva to 
pay this sum at once, permission is accorded to pay the 
sum in instalments with interest at five per cent. The 
two first years the Eussian government shall receive 
100,000 rubles each year; the two following years, 
125,000 each year; in 1877 and 1878, 150,000 rubles 
each year ; the two following years, 175,000 rubles 
each year; and in 1881, that is at the end of eight 
years, 200,000 rubles ; and each year after, until the end 
of the payment of the indemnity, the sum of 200,000 
rubles. The payments may be made in Eussian paper- 
money or in Khivan coin. The time for the first pay- 



420 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

inent is fixed for December 1, 1873. The Khivan govern- 
ment is allowed to collect taxes on the right bank of the 
river, to contribute to the first payment, at the same rate 
as previous years. The collection of these taxes must be 
accomplished by the 1st of December, 1873. The pay- 
ments shall be made on the 1st of November of each 
year. After paying 200,000 rubles for the year 1893, 
there will only remain, after nineteen years on the 1st 
of November, 1893, the last sum of 73,557 rubles. The 
Khivan government has the right to pay more than the 
sum specified each term, but not less. 



RESULTS OF THE WAR. 421 



CHAPTEE XIII. 

RUSSIA AND ENGLAND IN ASIA. 

I HAVE hitherto refrained from saying anything of the 
causes of the Eussian campaign against Khiva. These 
causes may be summed up in a very few words. First 
among them was the detention at Khiva of twenty-one 
Eussians, held there as slaves ; who were, however, libe- 
rated before the campaign was commenced. Next were the 
occasional attacks of Khivans upon caravans of Eussian 
merchants, which the Khan of Khiva would not, or could 
not, hinder, and which had been going on for many years. 

It will be seen by the treaty of peace, that they had 
other and more important objects in undertaking the cam- 
paign. They wished to reduce to subjection the only 
remaining Khanate in Central Asia which still refused to 
acknowledge their supremacy, as well as to^advance their 
frontier to the Oxus, and gain complete possession of that 
river as far up as the boundary of Bokhara. 

Summing up the Treaty, the result is : The Eussian 
frontier has been advanced 3U0 miles farther south, 
80,000 square miles of territory have been annexed, and 
complete possession of the lower Oxus has been obtained. 

The river, when Kaufmann left Khiva, had already 
been explored; and it appeared that after the artificial 



422 CAMPAIGNINa ON THE OXUS. 

obstructions put in the ciiannel by, the Khivans should 
have disappeared, it would be easily navigable for the 
Bussian steamboats as high as Khiva, and perhaps higher. 
The communication thus between Kazala and Khiva will 
be easy and rapid. 

It is not known to a certainty how many people have 
been added to the population of Russia; but as the 
right bank of the river is thinly inhabited, a guess of 
50,000 souls would probably be not far astray. 

I do not know what were the exact terms of the 
agreement entered into by Count Shuvaloff and Earl 
Granville. It is, I believe, generally understood that 
the Eussians simply agreed not to annex any territory 
south of the Oxus. 

It will be seen by the treaty, that the Eussians have not 
broken their agreement, while, at the same time, they have 
reduced the Khan to the most complete state of vassalage, 
besides depriving him of a large share of his dominions. 
He cannot stir hand nor foot without the consent of the 
Eussians, while he has at the same time all the responsi- 
bility of government. The arrangement, indeed, leaves 
every advantage on the side of the Eussians. As will 
be remarked, they receive about two-thirds of the whole 
revenue of the Khanate, without any expense or trouble, 
or the odium attached to the collection of it. The people 
are as completely in their power as though they really 
occupied the place ; and Eussian traders may come and go 
freely, as in their own country. 

The arrangement is far more advantageous to the 
Eussians than the actual occupation of the country ; and 
I doubt very much whether they would have annexed it 
immediately, even without the promise made to Earl 
Granville. 



KUSSIA AND ENGLAND. 423 

Under existing arrangements, the Khivans are be- 
coming accustomed to the presence of the Russians, their 
prejudices are gradually wearing off, and the way is thus 
paved for Eussian rule by the Khan himself. Indeed, I 
have little doubt that long before the war indemnity is 
paid, the death of the Khan, or some other event, will 
enable the Russians to quietly take possession, perhaps 
at the demand of the people themselves. 

It may be expected that I should say something of the 
political situation of the Russians in Central Asia. On 
this subject, however, I have but little to say. I do not 
deem that the mere fact of my having been in Central 
Asia during a short campaign, enables me to say any- 
thing new on the question, and there are men who have 
never been there at all far more competent to speak on 
it than myself. 

Such men as Sir Henry Eawlinson, Mr. Michell, and 
others, who have studied the question for years, must be 
looked to for information ; and to the works of these gen- 
tlemen I would refer the reader who wishes to obtain a 
correct and comprehensive knowledge of Central Asian 
affairs. Mr. Schuyler, too, and Mr. Ashton Dilke, are 
about publishing works on Central Asia, which will con- 
tain much valuable and new information on Russian 
politics and Russian administration in Turkistaji. 

It would be idle in me to say anything of the general 
views or the general interests of Russia and England in 
Central Asia. So far as these are questions of fact, abun- 
dant information has already been supplied by other 
writers ; and so far as they are questions of opinion, 
those acquainted with the subject have already made up 
their minds, 

I would simply remark that, in my opinion, the 



424 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

conquest of Khiva, and its occupation, should that follow, 
have no great significance, so far as Eussian advances on 
India are concerned. Of course, the fall of Khiva must 
exercise a strong moral influence upon all the Moha- 
medhan populations of Central Asia. Khiva was con- 
sidered impregnable and inaccessible ; it was the last 
great stronghold of Islamism in Central Asia, after 
Bokhara had fallen ; and its conquest will tend to confirm 
the belief, already wide-spread in these countries, that 
the Eussians are invincible. 

But apart from the prestige thus gained, the conquest 
of Khiva has little importance. In the present situation 
of the Eussians in Central Asia, there are two lines of 
advance to India. The one from the southern shores of 
the Caspian, along the northern frontier of Persia to 
Herat, and thence on to the western frontier of Hin- 
dostan, — in all a distance of 1000 miles. Whatever the pos- 
sibilities of an invasion being accomplished by this route, 
a glance at the map will show that Khiva would not be 
of the slightest use to an army from a military point of 
view. The other, and more probable line of march upon 
India, would be from Samarcand across the Khanate of 
Bokhara to Kerki, and thence up the Oxus to Kunduz. 
Khiva is 375 miles north-west from Kerki, and, therefore, 
that distaace behind what the direct line of march would 
be. The greater part of this distance, too, is a desert ; for 
even the banks of the Oxus for most of the way are un- 
inhabited. Khiva would, therefore, be of as little use 
to an army marching by this route as by the other. 

It may be said that the Eussians could employ their 
steamboats for transporting troops down the Syr, across 
the Aral Sea, and up to the Oxus. But, apart from the 
fact of the Eussians having but a few small boats on the 



RUSSIAN ADVANCES. 425 

Aral, utterly insufficient for the transport of a large army, 
there is little probability the Oxus is navigable as high 
up as Kerki ; and a scheme of this kind would, therefore, 
be impracticable. 

I am not of those who believe in a traditional policy of 
aggression on the part of the Eussians in Central Asia. 
The Eussian advances have been made rather through 
the ambition of military chiefs, who were only too glad 
to take advantage of the blunders and perversity of 
Central Asian despots to distinguish themselves, or win a 
decoration. Nor do I believe that the Eussians have any 
immediate designs on India, But they see that there is 
a certain amount of territory lying between the English 
and Eussian possessions which must sooner or later fall 
into the hands of either power. I think they are disposed 
to seize as much of this territory as they conveniently 
can ; and this comprises their whole policy at present. 

Whether, however, they follow a traditional policy of 
aggression or not, the result is, it must be admitted, very 
much the same. They are steadily advancing towards 
India ; and they will sooner or later acquire a position 
in Central Asia which will enable them to threaten it. 
Should England be engaged in a European war, and not 
show herself sufficiently accommodating on the Bosphorus, 
then, indeed, Eussia would probably strike a blow at Eng- 
land's Eastern empire. At present, however, the Eussian 
forces in Asia are not sufficient to make any such attempt. 
They have occupation enough in keeping the Central Asia 
populations in subjection. 

But when a railroad is laid from Samara to Samarcand, 
the question will assume a very different aspect. Suppose 
stores to have been collected at Samarcand in advance, 
an army of 100,000 might, by means of a railroad, be 



426 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

concentrated in Kerki in thirty days. From Kerki to 
Kunduz, along the valley of the Oxus, is only 250 miles ; 
and from Kunduz to the summit of the Hindu-Kush, only 
100 miles ; and an army might make this distance easily 
in twenty days. The annexation of Bokhara, and the 
occupation of Kerki, would, therefore, be the next steps 
in the advance of the Eussians on India. 

Bokhara is at present completely under Eussian tute- 
lage; and, I believe, no existing agreements between 
them and the English Government prevent them from 
occupying that country. 

And Bokhara occupied, the Eussian frontier would be 
within 150 miles of Cabul. 



A DARING EXPLOIT 427 



CHAPTEE XIV. 

HOMEWAKD. 

I WOULD here record an act of daring performed by- 
Colonel Skobeloff, of the Caucasus, whose name I have so 
often already mentioned. It was a matter of great interest 
and importance to determine whether Colonel Markosoff, 
who led the expedition starting from the base of Attrek, 
would have been able to reach the oasis, had he continued 
the march instead of retreating. In order to form an 
opinion on this point, it was necessary for some one to 
cross the desert to the point where Markosoff had turned 
back. But it would be an expedition of great hardship 
for a large force, and very hazardous for a small one, for 
the desperate Yomuds were prowling about in that direc- 
tion. Besides, the matter was not of sufficient importance 
to justify a great loss of men. One or two men should go 
over the road alone, make a hurried map of it, examine 
the wells, and determine about how much water they 
could be relied upon to furnish, and should trust to their 
own skill and the fleetness of their horses for safety. 
This duty was undertaken by Colonel Skobeloff, and 
carried out in the most gallant manner. Disguising 
himself in a Turcoman costume, he took three Turcomans, 

who had been long in his service on the shores of the 

31 



428 CAMPAIGNING- ON THE OXUS. 

Caspian, and, the day we marclied for Khiya, plunged 
into tlie desert in the opposite direction. 

AVe did not see him again for ten days, and had given 
up all hopes of his return, when he suddenly appeared 
among us, tired and exhausted with his long ride, but 
with the object of his undertaking accomplished. It 
appeared from his report that any attempt on the part of 
Markosoff to proceed farther with enfeebled camels, horses, 
and men could only have resulted disastrously, owing to 
the scarcity of water in that part of the route which still 
remained to be traversed. 

On the 24th of August, the Russians started from 
Khiva, and took up their march for the Oxus. On the 
morning of that day, the Khan rode out to the camp, took 
leave of Kaufmann and the officers of the staff, shaking 
hands with them all round. I happened to be in the city 
of Khiva while this leave-taking was going on ; but on 
my way back to the camp, I met the Khan, accom- 
panied by fifteen or twenty followers. My interpreter 
was absent, so that we could not open a conversation; 
but he shook me by the hand, smiled good-naturedly, 
and greeted me with the words usually employed in saying 
farewell. There was about his manner a little of that 
ostentatious good-nature which people, well pleased with 
their circumstances, are accustomed to lavish on all 
comers ; joy at the departure of the Russians had pro- 
bably the effect of securing for me an unusual display of 
friendly feeling. 

Colonel Skobeloff, who had just returned from the 
dangerous expedition through the desert of which I 
have just spoken, had not yet drawn up a report for 
General Kaufmann, and this report he had made up his 
mind to finish before leaving Khiva. He asked me to 



THE LAST NIGHT IN KHIVA. 429 

stay behind with him in the summer palace of the Khan, 
where the Eussian troops had been encamped, to keep 
him company. The troops started about two o'clock ; by 
three, they had all disappeared, and then the Colonel, his 
two servants, and myself were left alone — an insignifi- 
cant remnant of the victorious Eussians, in the midst 
of the multitudinous enemy. 

The Colonel at once applied himself to the preparation 
of his report and of an accompanying map, while I 
endeavoured to pass the day in alternately reading back 
numbers of the ' Eevue des deux Mondes* ' and in wandering 
about the deserted camp of the Eussians. Curious, indeed, 
was the spectacle presented by the ground which the 
troops had lately occupied. Silence, in place of movement 
and bustle ; the ground strewn with pieces of old carts, 
old carpets, and old tents ; and a Persian slave or two 
wandering about in g, chifonnier-like search for deserted 
valuables. 

At night we went to sleep in the interior of the small 
court of the palace. All night through the Colonel slept 
the sound sleep of one utterly worn out by hard work ; 
but his servants and I were less fortunate. Three 
times in succession we were awakened by loud reports, 
like those of a cannon. Anxiously we climbed to one of 
the upper porches, and looked towards the town. We 
could see nothing, however, but the glare which usually 
hangs over gas-lit cities. But Khiva is unlit by gas- 
lamps, or lamps of any other kind, so we concluded that 
the reports and the glare came from bonfires lit by the 
Khivans in celebration of the departure of the enemy. 

Early nest day we set out for the army. It was a 
beautiful, sunny morning ; and not without regret did we 
take a last look at the domes, minarets, and walls of 



430 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

Kliiva. Bathed in the sunlight of early morning, their 
squalidness had changed to beauty ; and a residence of 
two months and a half had given us a familiarity with the 
place that threw a tinge of not unpleasant melancholy 
over our departure. For three or four hours we rode 
through the pleasant fields and gardens of the oasis, 
occasionally meeting some Uzbegs, who saluted respect- 
fully, but with a certain amount of gaiety, that betrayed 
their delight at seeing the last of the Eussians. Not one, 
however, showed the slightest inclination to molest us ; 
and our small party of four rode on with as little appre- 
hension as if we were a column a thousand strong. 

We overtook the rear-guard at Khanki, and in a quarter 
of an hour more were on the banks of the Oxus. That 
night the army encamped by the river, and next morning 
the passage was commenced. The transport of the troops 
was not accomplished without considerable difficulty. In 
the first place, the number of hayuhs, or ferry-boats, was 
qmte insufficient. Secondly, there were two islands in 
the river at the point where the army crossed. The 
result was that, when the boats reached the first island, 
the troops had to get out, then march across the island, 
and once more enter the boats. The same process had to 
be gone through on arriving at the second island, although 
it was separated from the mainland but by a narrow 
channel. ' The result of all these obstacles was that the 
passage of the river occupied nearly two weeks. 

Meantime, General Kaufmann and his staff surveyed the 
right bank of the river, for the purpose of selecting a proper 
site for a fort ; finally, they chose a spot just below Shura- 
khana, and the works were immediately commenced. The 
place chosen was a large garden, planted with trees and 
surrounded by a thick, heavy, mud wall — a place which, in 



A NEW FOKT CONSTRUCTED. 431 

point of fact, was already a fortress in itself, and required 
scarcely any addition to make it sufficiently strong for 
tlie purposes of the Eussians. The fort was constructed 
on the same scale as those erected all over Central 
Asia. The walls, already standing, were strengthened 
by earthworks; and places were constructed for the 
reception of cannon. Situated on the bank of a river, 
in a fertile country, where the heat of summer is not 
too oppressive for this part of the world, and the cold of 
winter is not over severe, this fortress is by no means the 
worst station in Central Asia. It is about twenty-five 
miles from the capital. The garrison consists of two 
battalions of infantry, 1000 men; 200 Cossacks; and 
six pieces of artillery, together with two heavy guns, 
captured from the Khan. This, it will be seen, is not an 
enormous garrison ; but it is quite sufficient to strike awe 
into the Khivans, and keep them in submission. 

Colonel Ivanoff and Colonel Dreschern were left in 
charge ; the latter in command of the fort, the former as 
military governor of the district. No better selection could 
have been made. Colonel Ivanoff and Colonel Dreschern 
are thoroughly capable officers, devoted to their profession, 
fond of study, and take a lively interest in the popu- 
lations with whom they have to deal. In addition, they 
are extremely popular with the soldiers, as well as with 
their brother officers. These two gentlemen, together 
with Baron Kaulbars, are among the very best officers in 
Turkistan. 

It was determined that the different detachments 
should go home by the routes by which they had come. 
Verevkin's detachment accordingly started for Orenburg, 
and Lamakin's for Kinderly Bay ; both departing a week 
before Kaufmann, on his way to Tashkent. The greater 



432 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

part of the Kazala column remained at the fort on the 
banks of the Oxus. 

It was decided to send the sick and wounded in the 
kayuks down to the mouth of the Oxus, where the flotilla, 
under Lieutenant Sitnikoff, was stationed. They were to 
proceed thence up the Aral Sea to the mouth of the 
Eiver Syr, and up that river to Fort No. I. Having a 
wish to see the lower Oxus, I decided to accompany this 
detachment. As all the boats were required for the 
passage of the army across the Oxus, we had to wait until 
the greater part of the troops were on the other side 
before starting. At last twenty large kayuks were 
provided for us. There was an escort of about fifty 
men, about thirty or forty wounded Or sick soldiers, 
together with a number of officers who had received leave 
to go by this route to Tashkent, St. Petersburg, and other 
places. Among the officers was Greneral Kolokoltsoff, one 
of the bravest and most experienced officers in the 
Eussian army ; and there were besides. Baron Korf, whom 
I had first met at Alty-Kuduk, and General Pistolkors, 
who has probably more wounds than any man in the 
Eussian army. About ten or fifteen men were placed 
in each boat ; awnings were constructed out of the reed 
mattings, and most of the officers had beds made for 
them. In one end of the boats there was a place where 
our food could be cooked ; and altogether the voyage was 
undertaken with every convenience that could be expected 
under the circumstances. 

On the morning of the 1st of September, we pushed 
away from the Khivan shore, proceeding through a 
narrow canal, which, in about a quarter of an hour, 
brought us into the Oxus. We went down the river at a 
moderate speed, half gliding, and half rowing with the 




lili m, iiiiiilili J ii .iiiMiiii „ii i .JilBl WiaaaiiiliiiiiiaigiEgagBii iiiiii 



DOWN THE OXUS. 433 

« 
stream. At tliis point the current was about four miles 

an hour, but as we descended the river it grew much 

slower, and when we reached the Aral Sea it was not more 

than half a mile an hour. 

The voyage was indeed a very pleasant one. We 
had furnished ourselves with a sufficient supply of pro- 
visions. Twice during each day we landed in order to keep 
the boats together, and to rest the men who had been 
rowing. Then we cooked our food, ate our meals leisurely, 
and lay down on the grass, in the shade of the trees, 
before pushing off again. Every night, for the first 
few days, we encamped on shore, finding it impossible to 
steer through the darkness. The days were passed in a 
pleasant, do-nothing kind of way. Sometimes we played 
cards, sometimes we fished, generally once a day we took 
a swim ; and often we lay for hours, tired and languid, 
on our beds, listening to the singing of the soldiers, 
which, with the plash of the oars, made very pleasant 
music. 

The shores presented but little signs of life ; we scarcely 
ever caught sight of a human being. We saw plenty of 
houses, however, embosomed and almost hidden from 
view by gardens and fruit-trees. We also caught fre- 
quent glimpses of the graveyard mosques, which form 
as prominent a feature of Khivan scenery as the country 
church of the English landscape. These mosques have 
a tall, slender facade, about twenty feet wide, forty or 
fifty feet high, and square at the top. Behind this is 
a dome, which is very often covered with green tiles,, 
Dome and faqade, seen above the tops of the trees, 
present a very imposing appearance. The Khivan tombs 
are everywhere like those I have described within the 



434 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

walls of the capital — small semi-spherical mounds of 
mud or clay, which are often ornamented here and there 
with a hurnt tile or two, and with an inscription from the 
Koran in blue. 

We caught some very fine fish, and we were able to 
have fresh caviare the whole way. It may he worth men- 
tioning that a fish — the Sca-phyrhyncus — has been found 
in the Oxus which up to this time has only been caught 
in the Mississippi. The naturalist who accompanied the 
expedition gave to this new species the name of Oxianus. 

The Oxus varied in breadth from three-quarters to two 
miles and a half. In some places it was spread over an 
immense amount of country. The first halt we made 
was on the Khivan shore. Afterwards we always en- 
camped on the right bank, which, according to the treaty 
of peace, is now Eussian territory. The Khivan bank 
was covered with gardens, trees, and houses ; while on 
the right bank there was, half the time, scarcely any- 
thing but reeds and tall grass ; and there were signs that 
the river occasionally overflowed on that side. 

We sometimes met other boats coming slowly up the 
river, loaded either with wood or with fish. As the stream 
was too swift to row against it, these boats were generally 
dragged along by two men on shore, while two others 
steered. Once or twice we passed a boat-load of Kirghiz 
who were going in the same direction as ourselves. They 
were probably an aul on its annual migration. 

We camped opposite Kiptchak ; there is a slight torrent, 
but not sufficient to impede the navigation of the river. 
Down to the point where the Ulkun-Darya branches ofi" 
from the Oxus, and in the Ulkun-Darya itself, there are 
no falls or rocks ; and the river, in fact, is perfectly 



THEOUGH THE ULKUX-DARYA. 435 

navigable up as high as Khiva. A short distance below 
the Kiptchak, we saw a low range of mountains, or rather 
hills, on the right bank. These were bare, and of the 
same rotten sandstone formation which I had seen in 
the mountains of the Kyzil-Kum. Here the river grew 
narrower, the stream deeper, and the current carried 
us backwards and forwards from shore to shore. Next 
day — we were about a 100 miles from Khiva — the 
mountains disappeared on the right bank, and the fields 
and gardens on the left ; and then there was nothing 
to be seen on either side of the river but wild reedy 
marshes. About thirty miles below Khodjeili, we entered 
a branch of the Oxus, called the Ulkun-Darya, which 
is much narrower and deeper than the main stream, and 
therefore more suitable for navigation. It is, however, 
very crooked ; and sometimes the turnings were so short, 
that it was with difficulty our heavy boats could be got 
around them. Sometimes, too, we were almost caught in 
the thick reeds, which grew to a great height on all 
sides. 

Before passing Khodjeili, the Governor of Kungrad had 
come to meet us in a small boat, with one or two atten- 
dants. His demeanour to the Kussians was very different 
now from what it would have been at the time he sent the 
request to General Verevkin, to give him three days to 
collect his cannon. He undertook the duty of guiding us 
through the Ulkun-Darya; and from this point forward 
he could be seen, always gliding before us in his little 
narrow kayuk, leading the way. We now found it im- 
possible to land, as the reeds grew so thick in the water 
on each side that the boats could not penetrate through 
them. In fact, for three days we never even saw terra- 



436 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

firma; at night, we had to tie our boats to the reeds. 
During these three nights, those who had not nets 
sujffered greatly from the mosquitoes. So bad had they 
become before this, that the officers one night went on 
shore, lit a flaming fire of dried reeds, and so kept them 
off them till morning ; but during these three nights no 
such resource was possible. 

On the evening of the seventh day, the narrow channe' 
of the Ulkun-Darya spread out into a wide lake; and 
here the water was almost at a stand-still. The lake 
was some eight or ten miles in extent, and full of 
little floating islands of reeds and bushes. Bowing 
across it, we at length, in the afternoon, beheld in the 
distance the slender masts of ships rising out of the vast 
reedy plain. 

Towards nightfall we emerged from the reedy marshes 
in which we had been involved for more than three days ; 
and here again the channel TJlkun-Darya had become 
narrow — scarcely more than 100 or 200 feet wide. 
About sunset we reached the flotilla, and were soon 
on board, exchanging greetings with our friends and 
acquaintances. 

Lieutenant Sitnikoff was somewhat surprised to see 
me, as he had imagined when I left Kazala that I 
simply intended to go on to Tashkent. He had received 
some vague account of " my adventures, and we had a 
hearty laugh together over the trick I had played upon 
my friend Captain Verestchagin at Kazala. 

Among others I found young Count Schuvaloff. This 
brave young officer, it will be remembered, received a 
contusion in the storming of Khiva. He had been sent 
home with the Orenburg detachment ; but he became so 



KAZALA ONCE MOEE. 437 

much worse on the road that he had to be sent in a 
tarantass to the flotilla. I am glad to have heard that 
his health is now completely restored. 

The flotilla consisted of two steamers — the ' Samarcaud ' 
and the ' Perovsky ' — and three barges. The sick were all 
put on board ; the ' Perovsky ' took one barge in tow, and 
the ' Samarcand ' two ; and next day we abandoned our 
kayuks, and started down the Ulkun-Darya in full steam 
for the Aral Sea. We reached the mouth of the river, which 
was about forty miles from the station of the flotilla, the 
same night, and cast anchor, as it was impossible to cross 
the bar in the darkness. Early next morning we were 
again under steam. In half an hour we had crossed the bar 
and were rushing through the blue waters of the Aral Sea. 
Two days and one night on the Aral brought us to the 
mouth of the Syr-Darya, and in thirty-six hours more I 
was once again in Kazala, for which I had started so 
many months before. From this point some ojficers went 
to Tashkent, and others to Orenburg, on their way to 
St. Petersburg. 

Here for the first time I met Mr. Ker, who had been 
sent by the ' Daily Telegraph ' on the same mission as 
myself. I was sorry to find that, less favoured by fortune 
than I, he had been unable to accomplish his undertaking. 
He has since published his experiences ; and, having read 
his book, I can testify that the pictures of the country 
through which we both passed are as accurate as they 
are graphic. 

I had to make a stay of three days, waiting my turn 
for post-horses. I bought another tarantass, and on the 
15th of September was once more on the post-road to 
Orenburg. 



438 CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS. 

The distance from Kazala to Saratof, whicli in the pre- 
vious march had taken six weeks to accomplish, I now — 
when the horses were fresh from the summer pastures — 
made in fourteen days. The journey calls for no further 
comment. So here I end the account of my travels, and 
bid the reader — farewell. 



i 



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